US senators vote to cut Pak aid by 58pc
24 May, 2012
WASHINGTON: A US Senate panel voted cuts in aid to Pakistan by 58 percent on Tuesday and threatened to withhold even more cash if Islamabad does not reopen its supply routes for NATO soldiers in Afghanistan, reflecting American frustration over a months-long standoff.
The Senate panel voted to cut aid to Pakistan in fiscal 2013 from the request by the administration of President Barack Obama, said the panel's chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy. The senators voted $1 billion for Pakistan, including $800 million in foreign aid.
However, funding for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund was limited to just $50 million, and that money was tied to the supply lines' reopening, said Senator Lindsey Graham, the panel's top Republican.
"We're not going to be giving money to an ally that won't be an ally," Graham told reporters. The counterinsurgency fund was established several years ago to help train and equip Pakistan's military. The panel's spending blueprint must still be approved by the full Senate and the House of Representatives before it can become law.
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