Pentagon withholds $300M in Military reimbursements to Pakistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter holds a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia August 20, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — The Pentagon will not pay Pakistan $300 million in military reimbursements, an announcement that came after U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter withheld information from Congress that the South Asian nation was taking adequate action against the Haqqani network.

U.S.-Pakistan relations have soured over the last decade, American officials have grown further frustrated by what they refer to as Islamabad’s unwillingness to act against Islamic groups such as the Taliban and the aforementioned Haqqani network.

“The funds could not be released to the government of Pakistan at this time because the secretary has not yet certified that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network,” Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump said on Wednesday.

The money is part of the Coalition Support Fund, a program of the U.S. Defense Department that seeks to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations. Pakistan is the program’s largest recipient. About $14 billion has already been paid to Pakistan as part of the program since 2002, according to Pentagon data.

“This decision does not reduce the significance of the sacrifices that the Pakistani military has undertaken over the last two years,” Stump added.

Withholding the funds is a sign, while the Pentagon has acknowledged significant progress has been made in Pakistan and with the country’s military operations, much more work lies ahead. The country has rejected the notion is harbors militants or terrorists. Pakistani officials say they are limited on how much they can actually do, and that they are already fighting multiple Islamic groups. Officials are worried of potential “blowback” in the form of more terror attacks on its soil.

“(The) Coalition Support Fund is one of the many cooperative arrangements between Pakistan and the United States to pursue common objectives,” said Nadeem Hotiana, a spokesman for the Pakistani embassy in Washington.

Tensions between the U.S. and Pakistan ran at an all-time high back in May after a U.S. drone strike killed Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour on Pakistani soil. The urge to resist sending further funds to Pakistan has been growing in Congress for some time, several lawmakers have expressed feelings of concern about the nation’s nuclear program, commitment to fighting terrorist organizations and cooperation in the Afghanistan peace process.

Last March, Republican Sen. Bob Corker said he would use his power as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to blockade any U.S. dollars making their way towards Pakistan for the $700 million purchase of Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter jets.