WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump’s outlandish tweet bragging about $33 billion aid to Pakistan over a span of 15 years seems to be highly exaggerated as the statistics about the much-hyped assistance give a different picture.
Though the tycoon-turned-president insinuated that Pakistan responded with lies and deceit in response to the $33 billion that the US had given it, however, the official data available confirms that the $33 billion figure seems exaggerated and deeply flawed.
According to the USAID (The United States Agency for International Development), America handed over $14.788 billion in civilian & military aid to its South-Asian ally from 2001 till last year.
In 2017, the aid was approximately $473m by all the agencies in terms of disbursements.
If we combine the aid (civilian & military) from 2001 to 2017, the figure comes out to be $14.788 billion, instead of Trump’s claimed 33 billion Dollars.
Pakistan, which is leading the war against terrorism as a neighbour of war-torn Afghanistan also received funds from US in terms of ‘Coalition Support Fund’ but technically this was not aid and was merely reimbursement for the money Pakistan had already spent.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/no-more-us-was-foolish-to-give-aid-to-pakistan-says-trump/
The sum total of ‘reimbursements’ comes out to be $14.585 billion over a span of 16 years starting from 2001, but the US has conditioned the payment of complete amount till Pakistan takes action against the Haqqani network and so a visible amount is still pending out of the total promised $14.585b.
According to Security Assistance Monitor, which analyzes U.S. security sector assistance programs worldwide, Pakistan received not a single penny in the fiscal year 2017 in terms of security aid that it deserved to collect under the banner of ‘Coalition Support Fund (CSF)’.
If we delve into the details regarding the CSF payments, it comes out that ever since the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz assumed power in 2013, the US administration changed its mind and the reimbursement plummeted over the years though the demand for ‘do more’ against terrorism rose to a crescendo.
The maximum amount reimbursed in a single year to Islamabad was back in 2010 when the then Obama administration released $1,499,000,000 ($1.4b) to Pakistan.
Interestingly, in 2011, when the US launched Operation Neptune Spear to track Osama Bin Laden, it reimbursed $1,118,000,000 ($1.11b), an amount falling short of what Pakistan received in the previous year.
The zero payment to Pakistan by US in CSF for 2017 was also confirmed by a document prepared by the Congressional Research Service for distribution to multiple congressional offices in November 2017.
So, technically, Pakistan did not receive 33 billion US Dollars as claimed by the 45th head of the America Donald Trump.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/947802588174577664
Though Pakistan has to officially give a rejoinder to US accusations, even then the figures quoted above seem enough for US policymakers to revise their harsh attitude towards Pakistan that has rendered matchless sacrifices in the war against terror, a proof of which is martyrdom of civilian and armed troops besides over 132 children that were brutally massacred in Army Public School attack in 2014.
