Global Geopolitical Series: Pakistan ends intelligence cooperation with U.S. as aid halts

Pakistan decided to halt security and intelligence cooperation with the United States in response to Trump administration’s decision to halt aids to Pakistan. In his first tweet of the year, President Trump criticized Pakistan for failing to counter-terrorism and hinted at halting U.S. aid to the country saying, “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!”. Later the U.S. state department followed up on President Trump’s threat by announcing a halt of aids to Pakistan unless the country addresses the concern raised by the United States.

While the state department did not declare the amount that is being suspended, initial calculations suggested that the amount could be as much as $1.1 billion with two main categories being affected; Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and Coalition Support Funds (CSF). CSF reimburses Pakistan for counter-terrorism operation and comes under the defense department and FMF funds purchases of U.S. military hardware, training and services and comes under the State Department authority. The latest calculations suggest that the amount could be as high as $2 billion.

In response to the above action, Pakistan has halted sharing of any intelligence gathered from sources close to the border region of Afghanistan. Khurram Dastgir Khan, Pakistan’s defense minister, this week confirmed the move and added that the country is considering more radical options such as preventing the U.S. forces from using Pakistan as a land route to Afghanistan. In response to Pakistan’s decision, the under Secretary of the State Department pointed out that Trump administration’s halt aid is no permanent move and wants Pakistan to come to the negotiating table to discuss concerns.