US suspends millions in military aid to Pakistan

WASHINGTON – The United States is suspending or cancelling hundreds of millions of dollars of aid to the Pakistani military amid deteriorating ties, The New York Times reported late Saturday.

Citing unnamed senior US officials, the newspaper said the move was aimed at chastening Pakistan for expelling American military trainers and to press its army to fight militants more effectively.

In the wake of the May raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound, the United States recalled dozens of military trainers on Pakistan’s orders, while huge tensions remain over a covert American drone war against militants on the Afghan border.

According to The Times, about $800 million in military aid and equipment, or over one-third of the more than $2 billion in annual US security assistance to Pakistan, could be affected by the suspension.

This aid includes about $300 million to reimburse Pakistan for some of the costs of deploying more than 100,000 soldiers along the Afghan border as well as hundreds of millions of dollars in training assistance and military hardware, the report said.

Some of the curtailed aid is equipment that the US wants to send but Pakistan now refuses to accept, like rifles, ammunition, body armor and bomb-disposal gear, the paper said.

These deliveries were withdrawn or held up after Islamabad ordered more than 100 Army Special Forces trainers to leave the country in recent weeks, The Times noted.

Some of this equipment, such as night-vision goggles and helicopter spare parts, cannot be set up, certified or used for training because Pakistan has denied visas to the US personnel needed to operate it, the paper said.

And some of the suspended assistance is reimbursement for troop costs, which is being reviewed in light of questions about Pakistan’s commitment to carry out counter-terrorism operations, The Times said.