Trump-led US administration halts aid to Pakistan amid broader cuts: report

The Donald Trump-led United States administration has suspended aid to Pakistan, Geo News reported while quoting US officials, mirroring the recent cuts implemented for several other countries.

The report comes after Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent an internal memo, freezing virtually all foreign aid, making exceptions only for emergency food, and military funding for Israel and Egypt.

The sweeping order appears to affect everything from development assistance to military aid — including Ukraine, which received billions of dollars in weapons under Trump’s predecessor Joe Biden as it tries to repel a Russian invasion.

It also meant a pause of at least several months of US funding for Pepfar, the anti-HIV/AIDS initiative that buys anti-retroviral drugs to treat the disease in developing countries, largely in Africa.

According to the report, the State Department issued a directive to all US diplomatic and consular missions and instructed them to “immediately suspend” all aid programmes and cease related activities.

US officials confirmed to the news outlet that aid to Pakistan has also been halted, resulting in the suspension of various crucial projects.

Aid to the South Asian country has been “suspended until a comprehensive review is conducted.”

Moreover, projects under the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation have been temporarily halted while five initiatives in the energy sector have also been affected by this US decision.

The suspension has impacted four programmes related to economic growth and five in the agriculture sector. Moreover, funds associated with democracy, human rights, and governance have been temporarily put on hold.

Furthermore, the US decision has affected 11 governance programmes, four in the education sector, and another four in healthcare.

Washington has long leveraged aid as a tool of its foreign policy, saying it cares about development and drawing a contrast with China, which is primarily concerned about seeking natural resources.