US Congress panel freezes $700m worth of Pakistan aid

BBC.COM

A US Congressional panel has frozen $700m (£450m) in aid to Pakistan until it gives assurances it is tackling the spread of homemade bombs in the region.

The move reflects US frustration over what it sees as Islamabad's reluctance to act against militant groups.

But it has has been criticised by senior Pakistani politicians.

The killing by US forces of Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan in May and continuing US drone strikes in Pakistan have badly strained ties between the countries.

Washington is also known to be unhappy about what it sees as lacklustre Pakistani efforts to counter the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network, which it believes operates out of Pakistan and fights US troops in Afghanistan.

Correspondents say that Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of American foreign aid and the cutback announced on Tuesday is only a small proportion of the billions of dollars it receives from Washington every year in civil and military assistance. But the freeze in aid - part of a defence bill that is expected to be passed by Congress later this week - could presage even greater cuts, correspondents say. Washington has provided about $20bn (£12.8m) in security and economic aid to Pakistan since 2001, much of it in the form of reimbursements for assistance in fighting militants.

Islamabad has not only failed to act against militant groups - in some cases it has actively provided help to them, some in Congress say.

They are particularly aggrieved over suspicions that homemade bombs - or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) - are being made by militants based in Pakistan for use against US and Nato troops in Afghanistan.

IEDs are among the most effective weapons of the militants, and are responsible for most coalition casualties in Afghanistan.

Many are reportedly made using ammonium nitrate, a common fertiliser which Washington believes is being smuggled across the border from Pakistan.

The US wants "assurances that Pakistan is countering improvised explosive devices in their country that are targeting our coalition forces", Representative Howard McKeon, a House Republican, said.

Pakistan, however, argues that it is doing its utmost to fight al-Qaeda and the Taliban - and hundreds of soldiers have been killed since it joined the US-led war in Afghanistan in 2001.

Foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that "suggested pressure" from the US would hurt ties.

Mr Basit said that Pakistan prefers to believe "in co-operative approaches" between the two sides.

Last month Pakistan accused Nato of killing 24 Pakistani soldiers in an air strike near the Afghan border - and has stopped fuel being supplied from Pakistan to Nato forces in Afghanistan as a sign of its anger.