World
US willing to provide Pakistan with funds to enhance border security, prevent attacks from Afghanistan: Bilawal Bhutto
ISlamabad: Pakistan foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the US is ready to provide money to Islamabad to help it strengthen border security to prevent cross-border attack from Afghanistanaccording to a media report on Sunday.
Bhutto, who was in Washington from December 14 to 21, where he met with many leading policymakers and chaired the Ministerial Meeting of the G-77 and China, the largest negotiating bloc of countries. developing within the United Nations system, said he held talks with senior US senators. border security fund to be awarded in 2023, Dawn reported.
“Two senior senators — Bob Menendez from New Jersey and Lindsey Graham from South Carolina — told me they were provided with “funding in the 2023 budget to help us secure our border,” Bhutto said. with reporters when answering questions.
Senator Menendez chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while Senator Graham, a senior Republican, heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bhutto said, emphasizing the two houses’ strong positions. legislative.
During a press conference in Washington on December 19, US State Department spokesman Ned Price noted that Afghanistan-based terrorist groups such as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan have recently increased their attacks. attacks on Pakistani targets and offered to help Islamabad deal with the “increasing severity of the dangerous threat”.
“We have partnered with our Pakistani friends to help them overcome this ordeal. We stand ready to assist, whether with this ongoing situation or the broader one,” said Price.
But Bhutto’s response to Dawn makes it clear that while the US wants good relations between the two South Asian neighbors, it appears to want to cooperate with Islamabad in the fight against terrorist attacks. father from Afghanistan.
This is also reflected in the composite bill that Congress passed on Friday, spending US$200 million to promote gender equality in Pakistan and also highlighting the need to fight terrorism.
The bill does not mention a specific amount to fight terrorism, but it does say that funds allocated under the heading “Foreign Military Financing Program” may “be provided solely to support the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency in Pakistan.”
It also notes that funds for “International Drug Control and Law Enforcement” will be provided to the border security program in Pakistan.
Commenting on the US offers, former ambassador Touqir Hussain, an associate professor at Georgetown University, told Dawn that defeating terrorism is a common goal for both countries.
“So the US cannot just ask for Pakistan’s help without offering its own help. It’s a shared challenge that neither side can solve alone,” he said.
Hussain noted that the public statement in support of Pakistan “is clearly part of the United States’ ongoing efforts to restore its image in the country.”
Bhutto, who was in Washington from December 14 to 21, where he met with many leading policymakers and chaired the Ministerial Meeting of the G-77 and China, the largest negotiating bloc of countries. developing within the United Nations system, said he held talks with senior US senators. border security fund to be awarded in 2023, Dawn reported.
“Two senior senators — Bob Menendez from New Jersey and Lindsey Graham from South Carolina — told me they were provided with “funding in the 2023 budget to help us secure our border,” Bhutto said. with reporters when answering questions.
Senator Menendez chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while Senator Graham, a senior Republican, heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, Bhutto said, emphasizing the two houses’ strong positions. legislative.
During a press conference in Washington on December 19, US State Department spokesman Ned Price noted that Afghanistan-based terrorist groups such as Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan have recently increased their attacks. attacks on Pakistani targets and offered to help Islamabad deal with the “increasing severity of the dangerous threat”.
“We have partnered with our Pakistani friends to help them overcome this ordeal. We stand ready to assist, whether with this ongoing situation or the broader one,” said Price.
But Bhutto’s response to Dawn makes it clear that while the US wants good relations between the two South Asian neighbors, it appears to want to cooperate with Islamabad in the fight against terrorist attacks. father from Afghanistan.
This is also reflected in the composite bill that Congress passed on Friday, spending US$200 million to promote gender equality in Pakistan and also highlighting the need to fight terrorism.
The bill does not mention a specific amount to fight terrorism, but it does say that funds allocated under the heading “Foreign Military Financing Program” may “be provided solely to support the counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency in Pakistan.”
It also notes that funds for “International Drug Control and Law Enforcement” will be provided to the border security program in Pakistan.
Commenting on the US offers, former ambassador Touqir Hussain, an associate professor at Georgetown University, told Dawn that defeating terrorism is a common goal for both countries.
“So the US cannot just ask for Pakistan’s help without offering its own help. It’s a shared challenge that neither side can solve alone,” he said.
Hussain noted that the public statement in support of Pakistan “is clearly part of the United States’ ongoing efforts to restore its image in the country.”
