The United States of America ahs further cut down its aid to Pakistan by a massive 440 million USD. As per a report in The Express Tribune in Pakistan, the decision to slash the economic assistance to Pakistan was conveyed to the Pakistan government 3 weeks before Imran Khan’s visit to the US last month.
As per reports, the aid was being disbursed under the Pakistan Enhanced Partnership Agreement (PEPA) 2010. The recent slashing of aid has brought down US commitment in Pakistan to just 4.1 billion USD.
It is notable here that the PEPA was signed in September 2010 to enact the Kerry Lugar Berman Act that was passed by the US Congress in 2009 to grant USD 7.5 billion to Pakistan over a period of 5 years.
However, the US-Pakistan ties have seen a gradual deterioration in recent years. It has affected the actual commitments under the act. The Express Tribune has stated that before the latest cut the commitment had stood at 4.5 billion USD. It has now come down to 4.1 billion USD. However, the actual disbursement had stood at just 3.2 billion USD.
It is notable here that the Donald Trump administration had called for a slashing down of military aid granted to Pakistan stating that Pakistan has not done a single thing for the US.
Last year the USA had cancelled military aid worth over 300 million USD. Before that, the Pentagon had slashed aid worth 1 billion USD, citing Pakistan’s failure to crack down on terror outfits.
During Imran Khan’s visit to the US recently, Donald Trump had said to his face that the US has cut down aid to Pakistan because “Pakistan was not doing anything for the US, they were being really subversive”.