The Foreign Office on Thursday hoped that the US administration would soon resume the aid programs for Pakistan after President Donald Trump halted foreign assistance for 90 days to conduct a review to ascertain if such programs were aligned with his foreign policy agenda.
At his weekly news briefing, Spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan for the first time officially confirmed that foreign aid available to Pakistan under the USAID was also suspended after the executive order issued by President Trump on the first day in the White House.
“What I can convey to you is that we have taken note of the executive order issued by the US president, pausing all foreign development assistance programs for 90 days in order to assess their efficiencies and consistency with the US foreign policy,” the spokesperson said while responding to a question.
“Over the years, the USAID has worked on a number of beneficial projects in Pakistan in the areas of energy, education, health and Narcotics Control. We hope that these programs will restart soon, and the two sides remain in contact on that,” he added.
Pakistan at one point was a recipient of billions of dollars in civilian and military aid. But over the past few years, US assistance to Pakistan has dwindled quite considerably. Trump had halted all security assistance to Pakistan during his first term, accusing Islamabad for playing a “double game.”
However, the US continued to fund projects under the USAID program.
While President Trump made certain references to Afghanistan since he took charge, he has yet to say anything explicitly about Pakistan.
