US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu said before a congressional subcommittee on Tuesday that the US administration had requested $101 million for Pakistan in order to “strengthen democracy, fight terrorism, and stabilise the country’s economy.”
Speaking to the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, Lu submitted a formal budget proposal for South and Central Asian Affairs.
In view of the “ongoing challenges and opportunities” Pakistan was experiencing, he added, the proposed funds would promote economic reforms and debt management while also bolstering democracy and combating terrorism.
Lu said, “The President’s Budget seeks a straight-lining of our $101 million budget for Pakistan.” “That money would support economic reforms and debt management to help stabilize Pakistan’s economy, as well as fight terrorism and violent extremism and strengthen democracy and civil society.”
Pakistan has been under constant pressure from the US to preserve democratic norms. With a resounding majority, the US House of Representatives last month passed a resolution voicing concerns about Pakistan’s democratic and human rights conditions. Islamabad reacted forcefully, dismissing the worries as baseless.
In the same way, Washington has consistently emphasized that US and Pakistan have a “shared interest” in tackling the grave threat that terrorism poses to the whole region.
The budget request document for the president stated that the goal of the funding was to “compete with the People’s Republic of China (PRC), counter Russian and Chinese misinformation, and prevent terrorist groups from threatening the US security” by providing a total of $1.01 billion in foreign assistance to the South and Central Asian region.
In light of the US announcement that it will allocate more funds to South Asia, the president had asked for $585.7 million for the area, which is 4.8 percent more than what was allocated for 2023–2024.
Regarding Pakistan’s trade ties with China, he stated that the US aimed to stop Islamabad from becoming “even more overly dependent” on Beijing.
In response to a congressman during the hearing about Washington’s strategy to counter China’s “strong and growing influence” in Pakistan, Lu said that US investments will take precedence over those of China.
Lu declared, “In terms of investment, China is the past; we are the future.”
According to a research conducted last year, Pakistan is the third-largest receiver of Chinese development funding globally, with a portfolio worth $70.3 billion.
Based on the report, between 2000 and 2021, grants made up only 2 percent of China’s portfolio in Pakistan; the other portion was made up of loans.
Pakistan experienced a financial crisis for two years last year, during which Beijing rolled over $2.4 billion in loans to the country.
