WASHINGTON: Of the $3.99 trillion US budget for the next fiscal year, released on Monday, 2 Feb, the Obama administration has reportedly asked US Congress to provide more than $1 billion in civilian and military aid to Pakistan.
This would include a six-fold increase in foreign military financing, reports Dawn. The budget proposal describes Pakistan as a strategically important nation and says that the suggested US aid will strengthen its military in the fight against extremism, increase safety of nuclear installations and accelerate economic development.
Dawn reports that the US budget also says that continued US engagement with Pakistan will help bring stability to Afghanistan and promote better relations between Islamabad and New Delhi.
The budgetary proposals, released on Monday afternoon after US President Barack Obama sent his 2016 budget to Congress, reportedly shows a more than six-fold increase in foreign military financing (FMF) to Pakistan from $42.2 million in 2014-15 to $265m in 2015-16.
The US budget includes $561 billion in defence outlays. There is also a discretionary funding of $50.3bn for the State Department and the US Agency for International Development. Funds for countering terrorist activities and helping development in Afghanistan and Pakistan come from these two sources, the report says.
The foreign military financing (FMF) programme provides grants and loans to help countries purchase weapons and defence equipment produced in the United States as well as in acquiring defence services and military training. The Obama administration also proposed $334.9m for economic support fund and $143.1m for counter-terrorism and non-proliferation efforts.
Dawn quotes Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources Heather Higginbottom as saying during a briefing that while the budget proposals maintained a robust investment in our Pakistan assistance, overall there was a small reduction of about 10 per cent over the last year.
This reduction was based on what we think the needs are and what we assess the capabilities are, she said.
The US State Department noted that Pakistan is at the heart of the US counter-terrorism strategy, the peace process in Afghanistan, nuclear non-proliferation efforts, and economic integration in South and Central Asia. It argued that the proposed increase in foreign military funding to Pakistan was essential to the countrys efforts to increase stability in its western border region and ensure overall stability within its own borders.
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