Pakistan says US aid cut will not harm terrorism fight
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Global Times, July 12, 2011
A Pakistani military official said Monday that the country's forces would be able to fight without US assistance, after the Obama administration cut nearly a third of all military aid to Pakistan.
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Pakistani army soldiers cordon off an area of an army depot on the outskirts of Islamabad Monday, after an accidental blast. An explosion ripped through a Pakistani arms depot just outside Islamabad, killing a soldier and bringing down the roof of a barracks, officials said. |
"The army in the past, as well as at present, has conducted successful military operations using its own resources without any external support whatsoever," AFP quoted Pakistan military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas as saying.
The statement follows a confirmation by US President Barack Obama's chief of staff, William Daley, in a TV interview Sunday that the US has decided to withhold about US$800 million of its annual US$2.7 billion security assistance to Pakistan, according to AFP.
Wang Dehua, a scholar on South Asia issues at the Shanghai Institute of International Strategic Studies, told the Global Times Monday that the move was to test the Pakistan government, and that the US is unlikely to halt all military aid in the future.
Washington's decision to suspend military aid to Islamabad came more than two months after US commandos killed Osama bin Laden, which Pakistan sees as a breach of its sovereignty.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has demanded the number of US military personnel on its territory be slashed, and also wants to cut the number of US intelligence officials, Reuters said.
Monday, India said it welcomed the US decision, according to AFP. With the US military aid being cut, Western media said that Pakistan could turn to China for military assistance.
A senior Pakistan official told CBS News on condition of anonymity that "this tightening of US military aid was expected. That's where our long-term relations with China will help to meet this gap."
Pakistan would definitely seek aid from China if the US continues to cut its assistance, since China and Pakistan have had long-term military cooperation, Wang told the Global Times, adding that China needs to handle the issue carefully.
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