ISLAMABAD: The United States of America Wednesday denied cutting US 700 million assistance to Pakistan and stated the reports in this regard pointed to a draft legislation, currently under negotiation in the US Congress.
A statement issued by the US embassy referred to a press briefing yesterday in which US Department of State Spokesperson Victoria Nuland corrected media reports alleging that the United States had cut $700 million in assistance to Pakistan, subject to assurances that Pakistan would cooperate with the United States in countering improvised explosive devises (IEDs).
The spokesperson explained that the United States has not cut assistance and the reports reflect draft legislation currently under negotiation in the US Congress.
A transcript of the remarks of Ms Nuland is as under: MS. Nuland: We have not cut 700 million in aid to Pakistan. What we have is something on the defense authorization bill, which is currently moving in the Congress, which would require the Department of Defense to continue providing a strategy on how we will use certain military assistance and measure its progress, in particular on progress that we are making with Pakistan on the IED issue.
So if - obviously, if this legislation becomes law, we'll work with the Government of Pakistan on how we can fulfill the requirements. But, this requires us to maintain a strategic perspective and to be clear with our Congress about the strategy. And as you know, this is a subject that the US and Pakistan have been working on for some time together, both through DOD programs and through State Department programs.
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