WASHINGTON: Payments to Pakistan under the Coalition Support Fund are still frozen and the US Defense Secretary (who was recently in Pakistan) has not yet issued the required certification.
Lt. Col. Michael Andrews a spokesman for the Pentagon, told media that “Secretary Mattis has not yet made a decision on the certification required”.
Congress has yet to release the $400 million in counter-terrorism funds for Pakistan in fiscal year 2017.
Another $650 million in payments, that Pakistan would have received for the previous two fiscal years, have already been “reprogrammed and are no longer available to Pakistan,” Andrews further added.
While the United States maintains that the funds are tied to Islamabad’s backing for counter-terrorism operations, Pakistani officials continue to claim that payments should not be linked to precise conditions.