Withheld coalition funds were reimbursement not assistance, says ambassador to US
July 22, 2017
WASHINGTON: Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Aizaz Chaudhry on Friday clarified that the funds withheld by the US Department of Defence were reimbursement for expenses incurred by Pakistan towards achieving "our common objectives in the fight against terrorism' and were not assistance.
The Pentagon has withheld $50 million to be paid under the CSF to Pakistan.
The ambassador said that Pakistan had paid a staggering human and financial cost in the fight against terrorism.
"It is a well-known fact that Pakistan's counter terrorism efforts have resulted in a significant decline in terrorist attacks," said Chaudhry.
He further said that Pakistan has spearheaded the fight against terrorism and had achieved significant successes.
"Pakistan is maintaining the momentum in fighting terrorism as is evident through Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad and the recently launched Operation Khyber-IV," said the ambassador.
The US had allotted $900 million to Pakistan under CSF, out of which $550 million has already been reimbursed.
Out of it, $300 million was withdrawn by Congress as part of a broader appropriations act.
The report, quoting a Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump, said however that the withholding of funds did not reduce the significance of the sacrifices that the Pakistani military had undertaken over previous years.
According to the report, the funds were held back after US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis said he could not verify that Pakistan had made enough efforts against the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani group, during a US Congress defense committee hearing.
