U.S. cancels $300 million in planned aid to Pakistan

The Pentagon has taken the final steps to cancel $300 million in planned aid to Pakistan. The Trump administration has complained that Pakistan’s government isn’t doing enough to apply pressure to the Taliban, whose leaders use Pakistan as a sanctuary.

Shashank Joshi, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said the move by the United States marks a shift in strategy in dealing with Pakistan. “Previous presidents have always hoped they could turn around Pakistan’s behavior,” he said. “But I think with Trump we’re finally seeing a sense of disillusionment sink in and a sense of conviction amongst Congress, amongst the administration, the White House, that it’s too late. We simply have to now use more sticks because the carrots just haven’t worked.”

Pentagon officials said they submitted a request to Congress this summer for authorization to use the $300 million for other purposes, but the request has not yet been approved. A Pentagon spokesman said it made the request because of Pakistan’s lack of support for the U.S. strategy to bring the Afghan war to an end.