US suspended $3 billion, not $1.3 billion as quoted by White House, in security aid to Pakistan in 2018: Sources

Washington: The US has suspended $3 billion in security assistance to Pakistan this year after it failed to rein in terrorist groups, a figure which is much higher than the $1.3 billion quoted by the Trump administration earlier, according to sources. The $3 billion amount was calculated in the latest compilation of all figures coming from various funding streams from different fiscal years, PTI has learned. [caption id=“attachment_5305281” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of US president Donald Trump. Reuters[/caption] Not been made public yet, the suspended figure of $3 billion is much higher than the $1.3 billion quoted by President Donald Trump this month and $1.66 billion reported by the Pentagon last week. The compilation of the figures coming from various wings of the US Government is understood to have been done after the recent Twitter spat between President Trump and Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan. The US president this month said that Pakistan did not “do a damn thing” for the US despite billions of dollars in American aid for the South Asian nation. Khan fired back, telling the president on Twitter that he “needs to be informed about historical facts,” adding that the US aid to Pakistan was a “minuscule” $20 billion, while the country lost 75,000 people and more than $123 billion fighting the ‘US War on Terror’. Over the past several years, senior US officials had been accusing Pakistan of playing a double game with the US and not taking satisfactory action against terrorist groups like Haqqani networks, the Taliban and Lashkar-a-Taiba. During the second term of the Obama administration, US lawmakers started bringing in legislation that imposed stringent conditions on Pakistan for certain security assistance. However, Trump became the first US president to announce the suspension of security aid to Pakistan. “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies and deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!” Trump announced on 1 January. Since then, senior administration officials assert no security aid has been given to Pakistan. Among this also includes the coalition support fund. Early this month, Trump charged Pakistan of harbouring Osama bin Laden, Al Qaeda leader, and asserted that his country will not give any financial aid to Pakistan. Trump told White House reporters last week that he wants to have a better relationship with Pakistan, but would not revoke the suspension of aid unless he sees changes in the approach of Pakistan towards terrorist organisations.