Washington: The United States of America has decided to block the disbursement of USD 350 million aid to Pakistan after the Defence Secretary, Jim Mattis, told the Congress that Islamabad hadn't taken "sufficient actions" against the Haqqani network, a U.S. official said on Friday.
The decision came days after the State Department, in its annual report on terrorism, named Pakistan among countries and regions providing "safe havens" to terrorists.
"The funds could not be released to the Government of Pakistan at this time because the secretary could not certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network per the requirement in the FY 2016 National Defense Authorization Act," Adam Stump, a Pentagon spokesman, told Reuters.
This is not the first time the Pentagon has decided not to make military reimbursements. Last year, the Pentagon withheld $300 million in reimbursements. Pakistan has been reimbursed $550 million of the $900 million the country was authorized to receive in fiscal year 2016.
Out of remainder, $300 million had already been reprogrammed for other purposes, but had not been previously reported. Mattis' latest decision affects the remaining $50 million.
The amount is under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), a U.S. Defense Department program to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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