The U.S. will cancel $300 million in military aid to Pakistan for not doing enough to target jihadist groups inside the country, the Pentagon confirmed Saturday.
The Trump administration indefinitely suspended nearly $1 billion from the so-called Coalition Support Fund in January, citing Pakistan’s failure to take “decisive action” against Islamic militants.
At the time of the suspension, the Pentagon said Pakistan could lift the freeze by going after Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network fighters operating within its borders, but the offer is no longer on the table.
“Due to a lack of decisive actions in support of the South Asia strategy, the remaining $300 million was reprogrammed,” Defense Department spokesperson Lieut Koné Faulkner said Saturday, according to The Guardian.
The Coalition Support Fund reimburses Pakistan’s military for counterterrorism operations, a top priority of the Trump administration’s South Asia strategy. But the Pentagon now plans to spend the $300 million on “other urgent priorities” approved by Congress, Faulkner said.
