News
Friday, July 15, 2011
US reassures Pakistan on civilian aidWASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday reassured Pakistan that it would keep sending civilian assistance after it deferred $800 million in military aid in a bid to seek greater defence cooperation. Thomas Nides, the US deputy secretary of state for management and resources, delivered the message in a telephone conversation with Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, the State Department said. “We do have the slowdown on the security side, but our civilian assistance remains undeterred,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said, describing the phone call. “We continue to work productively on the civilian side. That assistance continues to flow,” Toner told reporters. The United States suspended the military assistance - about one third of its $2.7 billion annual defence package - some two months after a US operation killed Osama bin Laden. After the raid, the United States pledged to keep relations steady with Pakistan. But US frustration has mounted, including over Islamabad’s decision to oust up to 200 US personnel who planned to train Pakistani forces. Toner said that the United States had given Pakistan $2 billion in civilian aid since a major congressional bill was approved in 2009. Of the aid, $550 million was emergency relief for Pakistan’s massive floods last year. afp
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk