No aid till you act, US tells Pakistan

State dept says country needs to round up terror groups acting from its soil

KARACHI: The United States has announced stopping all military aid to Pakistan, while reiterating its ‘do more’ demand.

“Pakistan needs to round up the terror groups acting from [its territory],” said State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert while speaking at a briefing in Washington on Thursday.

“No country has suffered more from terrorism than Pakistan. They understand that, but they still haven’t taken the necessary steps,” she said, adding, “We have been clear with Pakistan about what they need to do.”

While noting that some people criticised the State Department for not being blunt with Pakistan, the spokesperson said that the recent move to withhold military aid “changes that”.



However, the spokesperson made it clear that the humanitarian assistance to the country was not being stopped at this point.

She also noted that the “money is not suspended forever”, and “Pakistan can get it back in future if it takes decisive steps”.

On some Pakistani leaders saying the move took them by surprise, she said, “Pakistan may say this is a surprise, but it should be no surprise to them.”

Nauert closed by noting that the relationship with Pakistan is like a marriage. “Some days you have better days than others.”