1.17.1. Recent Trends

♤ During the PM’s visit to the US in June 2017, the biggest takeaway in substantive terms was the stern language against Pakistan and the designation of Syed Salahuddin, the ‘supreme commander’ of the Kashmiri militant outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist because of his pronouncements about wreaking havoc in Kashmir and making it a graveyard for Indian forces.

♤ In August 2017, while unveiling his new South Asia strategy, Mr. Trump had accused Pakistan of giving “safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror,” and said the time had come “for Pakistan to demonstrate its commitment to civilisation, order, and to peace.”

♤ The United States is keeping “all options” on the table to deal with Pakistan if it does not take decisive action against the Taliban and the Haqqani network and dismantle their safe havens, the White House warned on 6 January 2018.

♤ In the First week of January 2018, the US suspended about $2 billion in security aid to Pakistan for failing to clamp down on terror groups. This includes Foreign Military Funding (FMF) and the Coalition Support Fund (CSF)

♤ The freezing of all security assistance to Pakistan comes after President Donald Trump in a New Year’s Day tweet (2018) accused the country of giving nothing to the US but “lies and deceit” and providing “safe haven” to terrorists in return for $33 billion aid over the last 15 years.

♤ Some policy-makers have been asking the White House to revoke the non-NATO ally status of Pakistan and put pressure on the country through multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations, Pentagon generals have indicated unilateral actions.