WASHINGTON, August 2, 2018 (News Wires) -- Amidst tensions in bilateral ties, the US Congress has passed a defence spending bill capping its security-related aid to Pakistan at $150 million, significantly below the historic level of more than one billion US dollar per year. The National Defense Authorisation Act-2019 (NDAA-19), however, removes certain conditions like action against Haqqani Network or the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) - as was the case in the past few years for disbursement of US aid to Pakistan. The Senate passed the conference report on NDAA-19 by 87 to 10 votes Wednesday afternoon. The House of Representatives had passed the conference report last week. It now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump's assent. "The legislation reduces the total amount of funds provided for reimbursement to Pakistan to $150 million. This is a significant reduction from the $700 million that was authorised through Coalition Support Fund (CSF) last year," Anish Goel, who was part of Barack Obama's White House National Security Council, told PTI. However, in doing so, the legislation gets rid of the certification requirements for Pakistan's action against the Haqqani Network and it also gets rid of the authority to reimburse Pakistan for counter-terrorism, he said. "Hence, the Pentagon no longer has any tools to put pressure on Pakistan to undertake counter-terrorism activities or action against the Haqqani Network," Goel, who till recently was a senior staffer in the Senate Armed Services Committee, said. During the previous Obama administration, Pakistan used to get nearly 1.2 billion aid from the US under the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 also known as the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act. US President Donald Trump since assuming office has been tough on Pakistan over its inaction against terror groups. Trump in August last year unveiled his new South Asia policy and asked Pakistan to do more against such groups. The US in January suspended more than $1.15 billion security assistance to Pakistan, accusing it of harbouring terror groups like the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network within its border and showing unwillingness to take "decisive actions" against them. The US has also voiced its disapproval of growing Chinese involvement in Pakistan, adding to tensions in bilateral ties. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday had cautioned the IMF against a possible fresh bailout for Pakistan's new government to pay off Chinese lenders who have invested in the strategic China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Joshua White, who was also a part of Obama's White House National Security Council team and worked on Pakistan, said this year's defense legislation significantly reduces the amount of security assistance that Pakistan can theoretically receive outside of traditional Foreign Military Financing. "It makes Pakistan ineligible for Coalition Support Funds (CSF), but adds Pakistan to a list of countries that can receive a related form of assistance designed to help partner nations bolster border security," White told PTI and observed, "This legislation is a mixed blessing for Pakistan."
