The United States has decided to suspend its military aid to Pakistan following Islamabad's request for a "significant cutback" of American military trainers on its soil, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
"A series of events over the last eight months have affected our bilateral relations. As a result, the Pakistan Army has requested a significant cutback of US military trainers, and limited our ability to obtain visas," said Pentagon spokesman Colonel Dave Lapan.
"While the Pakistani military leadership tells us this is a temporary step, the reduced presence of our trainers and other personnel means we can't deliver the assistance that requires training and support to be effective," Lapan said, responding to a report in the New York Times that the US had suspended $800 million military aid to Pakistan.
Lapan refrained from discussing any specific figure of aid suspension to Pakistan.
The White House Chief of Staff, Tom Donilon, confirmed that the figure was indeed $800 million as reported by the NYT.
"Yep", Donilon said when Christina Amanpour of the ABC News asked if the figure was "Some $800 million", referring to the news report published by the paper in this regard.
Lapan said it is important to note that all of the military assistance that the US provides to Pakistan is in response to Pakistani requests.
"We remain committed to helping Pakistan build its capabilities, but we have communicated to Pakistani officials on numerous occasions that we require certain support in order to provide certain assistance," he said.
"Working together, allowing an appropriate presence for US military personnel, providing necessary visas, and affording appropriate access are among the things that would allow us to effectively provide assistance," Lapan said, indicating Pentagon wants Pakistan to remove visa restrictions on its people and allow continued presence of its trainers for the military aid to continue.
Lapan also referred to the recent Congressional testimony of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on US military aid to Pakistan.
"When it comes to our military aid, we are not prepared to continue providing that at the pace we were providing it unless and until we see certain steps taken," Lapan said.
"The US continues to seek a constructive and mutually beneficial relationship with Pakistan. We are engaging Pakistan's leaders to take steps to strengthen cooperation towards our shared security goals," the Pentagon spokesman said.
