US House of Representative voted to cut the US Aid to Pakistan by 650 Million Dollar

The US House of Representative on 19 July 2012 voted unanimously to cut the US aid to Pakistan by 650 million dollar. The amendment to cut the aid was proposed by Republican Congressman Ted Poe. The proposal which got the approval of the house in a voice vote will now be tabled in Senate for its approval.

Pakistan, a long time ally of US in its war on terror, has received over 20 billion dollar in military and non-military aid since 2001. The Islamic country is one of the largest recipients of US assistance, as in year 2012 alone it is set to receive nearly 3 billion dollar in US aid.

Kerry-Lugar Bill

The US Senate in September 2009 had unanimously passed the Kerry-Lugar bill which tripled non-military aid to Pakistan to 1.5 billion dollar per annum, pledging America's long term commitment to its key ally against extremism.

Present state of US – Pak Diplomatic Relation

The unusual move to cut the US aid to Pakistan has come at a time when the relation between the two countries has dipped to its lowest point since Osama Bin Laden was killed in Abottabad of Pakistan in May 2011. Following the incident Pakistan accused US of infringing on its sovereignty, while, the US blamed Pakistan for patronizing Osama and misleading the American government. The diplomatic relation between the two countries deteriorated further after Pakistan in December 2011 closed the critical NATO supply route to Afghanistan following a US drone attack in the country in November 2011, which claimed the life of 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Amidst the increasing war cost due to the closed supply route (it cost the US government about 100 million dollar as additional war costs as it used another route across central Asia) the US government finally stepped ahead for reconciliation. In a move aimed at ending the 7-month long political impasse, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sent an apology letter to the Pakistani government. The official apology from US administration subsequently opened the door for resumed NATO supply line, and cooperation between the two countries on counterterrorism and Afghanistan. Despite the current respite, the disagreements between the two countries continue to remain over the issues such as Pakistan's inaction on militant sanctuaries in the country, US drone strikes in Pakistani territory and reconciliation with the Taliban.