US freeze on Pakistan aid unwise: Salim Saifullah

I don't see any good coming out of this, says chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee.

The decision to freeze $700 million in aid to Pakistan until it gives assurances it is helping fight the spread of homemade bombs in the region could hurt already strained ties, Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid (PML-Q) leader Salim Saifullah warned on Tuesday.

"I don't think this is a wise move. It could hurt ties. There should instead be efforts to increase cooperation. I don't see any good coming out of this," Salim Saifullah, chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee, told Reuters.

The leaders of a US House-Senate negotiating panel have agreed to freeze $700 million in US aid to Pakistan until it offers to help in the fight against improvised explosive devices in the region, exerting more pressure on a troubled strategic ally.

Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of US foreign aid, and the cutback announced is only a small proportion of the billions in civil and military assistance it gets a year.

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