[HINDUSTANTIMES] US security assistance for Pakistain, which has been declining for years as a reflection of the deteriorating ties between the two erstwhile allies, has plummeted by more than 75% since 2011.
From $1.2 billion in 2011, it is now $316 million, as requested by the US administration for 2015, according to a report of the Congressional Research Service (CRS).
Relations between the two countries hit a new low in 2011 after US Navy SEALs found and killed al Qaeda chief the late Osama bin Laden
... who used to be alive but now he's not...
in the Pak military town of Abbottabad
... A pleasant city located only 30 convenient miles from Islamabad. The city is noted for its nice weather and good schools. It is the site of Pakistain's military academy, which was within comfortable walking distance of the residence of the late Osama bin Laden....
.
Over the same period, total US assistance, including economic aid and compensation for helping coalition military forces, is down from $3.5 billion to $814 million (as requisitioned), the report released earlier this month said.
"Ties never really not recovered since 2011, if you look at statements from congressional leaders combined with their refusal to clear the F-16 deal and the introduction of the non-waivable exemption clause," " a congressional aide said.
"You can make a persuasive argument that the link between declining security assistance and deteriorating ties is causal and not mere coincidence," the aide added.
"Duplicitous" is a word frequently used by politicians from both sides and even in the media for Pakistain, a non-NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
ally, specially on account of its patchy counter-terrorism efforts.
The US has been pushing Pakistain to act against holy warriors operating from its soil, such as the Haqqani Network that attacks foreign forces in Afghanistan, and the Lashkar-e-Taiba
...the Army of the Pure, an Ahl-e-Hadith terror organization founded by Hafiz Saeed. LeT masquerades behind the Jamaat-ud-Dawa facade within Pakistain and periodically blows things up and kills people in India. Despite the fact that it is banned , always an interesting concept in Pakistain, the organization remains an blatant tool and perhaps an arm of the ISI...
, which targets India.
Islamabad, however, has been found to be focused more on holy warriors that target Pakistain, the "bad" terrorists, and not the "good" holy warriors that serve its strategic goals.
Frustrated by Pakistain’s continued ambivalence, US senators came together earlier this year to block a US proposal to sell to Pakistain eight new F-16 jets at subsidised costs.
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