US Senators urge Obama administration for release funds to Pakistan

US Senators have urged Obama administration to release funds to Pakistan that have been held up for months after Islamabad resumed land routes for NATO forces battling in Afghanistan.

The situation has become much comfortable after US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had given expression of apology to Islamabad over the Salala check-post attack that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

The United States aimed to release the funding promised earlier after Islamabad agreed to resume NATO supply line into Afghanistan. It is vital to mention here that US Congress has already given approval to reimburse Pakistan for counterterrorism operations.

Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Michigan and Lindsey Graham urged the Obama administration to release the funding at the earliest.

Levin while speaking to the media observed, “They don’t deserve it. What they’ve done is presumably earned it by the amount of money they’ve laid out in terms of their anti-terrorist activity and protecting our lines”.

It is vital to highlight here that the US intends to release $1.1 billion in approved request for reimbursement of money Islamabad had spent has spent in war on terror operations that were incurred mainly in the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Graham noted, “If our commanders believe that releasing the funds helps the war effort, yes. I don’t want to second guess these people. Pakistan on a good day is very hard. It is an unreliable ally. You can’t trust them, you can’t abandon them”.

In his view, Pakistan should be stable and biggest beneficiary should the men and women fighting the war. The money, he said, should be release which will help them in reducing their difficulties.

He explained, “If you cut the money off, what leverage do you have? There may come a day when we do that, but not yet”.

Earlier, Senator Rand Paul announced that he would vote later this month to cut off future funds to Pakistan.

That vote is contingent in part on what Pakistan does in the case of Shakil Afridi, the doctor who helped the United States track down Osama bin Laden but was convicted and sentenced to 33 years for high treason.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=28627

Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 11 2012. Filed under USA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.