Washington: The US on Wednesday said "no decision" has been made with respect to disbursement of next tranche of Coalition Support Fund to Pakistan and future security assistance to the country has not been taken off the table.
"We have certainly not taken future security assistance off the table and Pakistan continues to be a high priority counter-terrorism and defence partner for the US," Defence Department Spokesman Major Roger M Cabiness said.
The spokesman was responding to questions on recent media reports that the Pentagon is having second thoughts on its security assistance to Pakistan in particular those related to CSF given that the US is unhappy with its reluctance to take strong action against the Haqqani network.
"No decision has been made with respect to the CSF," Cabiness said. For the disbursement of next tranche of CSF the Secretary of Defense needs to certify to the Congress that the Pakistani Army is taking strong action against terrorist organisations like Haqqani network and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
The related file has not reached his table yet. "The United States strongly supports ongoing Pakistani counterterrorism efforts. Pakistan has suffered at the hands of terrorists and violent extremists, and the United States will continue?to work closely with Pakistan to achieve our shared goal of defeating violent extremists to ensure the safety of our people today and in the future," he said.
Cabiness said the Coalition Support Fund is a demonstration of American commitment to supporting Pakistan's efforts to eliminate terrorist threats throughout the country.
"The Administration has delivered over USD 13 billion in CSF to Pakistan since 2002, and Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of US Foreign Military Financing globally," he said.
"We are now in discussions with the Government of Pakistan about what shape that assistance takes going forward beyond 2016 and how we might best support Pakistan's ongoing fight against terrorism and strengthen regional security," he said in response to a question.
