security aid

WASHINGTON: The United States (US) Congress has passed a $716.3 billion defense authorization bill, significantly slashing the security aid to Pakistan to $150 million per year. The security-related aids have been around $750 million to $1 billion until now.  The bill, however, eased certain conditions that were linked with the financial assistance, including action against the Haqqani Network and the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). AFP adds: The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed in the Senate a week after…

WASHINGTON: A surprise New Year’s Day tweet by President Donald Trump in which he appeared to decree an end to U.S. aid for Pakistan, sent U.S. officials scrambling to suspend security assistance without even knowing how much aid they were freezing, four U.S. officials said. The decision to freeze up to about $2 billion in security aid, according to a later estimate by U.S. officials, to a nuclear-armed ally is the latest example of how, nearly a year into Trump’s presidency, U.S. officials sometimes have to scurry to…