Trump suspends U.S. aid to Pakistan over terrorism concerns


The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will cease all security aid to Pakistan, citing the nation's lackluster efforts to combat terrorism. BuzzFeed News' John Hudson notes the suspension includes not only foreign military aid, but also general "security assistance" doled out by the Department of Defense.
State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert did not specify exactly how much aid money would be frozen, but per Hudson, the sum is more than the $255 million in military aid that U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley announced was being withheld Wednesday. The New York Times reported that "the suspension includes Coalition Support Funds for Pakistan, which is provided by the Pentagon to help pay the costs of Pakistan's counterterror operations."
Over the summer, President Trump accused Pakistan of giving "safe haven to agents of violence, chaos, and terror," and on Monday he tweeted that the nation offers the U.S. nothing but "lies and deceit." The relationship between the two countries is complicated, because while terrorist groups do take shelter within Pakistan's borders, Pakistan is also a key ally to the U.S.'s counterterrorism efforts as American forces depend on supply routes on Pakistani land or in Pakistani airspace to fuel troops overseas or launch drone strikes.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Per The New York Times, the U.S. has funneled more than $33 billion in aid to Pakistan since 2002.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambush
Speed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrial
Speed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California