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

(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

published 4 January 2018

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.