The US Department of Defence said on Tuesday that it authorised the disbursement of $550 million to Pakistan this year as recognition of the significant sacrifices the Pakistani military has made in the fight against terrorism.

The money comes from the Coalition Support Funds (CSF), which reimburses Pakistan for providing logistical, military, and other support to US operations in Afghanistan. This amount was set aside for this purpose in the US fiscal year 2016, which ended on Sept 30, and covers the services provided from January to June 2015.

“The department recognises the significant sacrifices the Pakistan military has made in the fight against terrorism, and appreciates Pakistan’s continued support for transit of material to coalition forces in Afghanistan,” said Adam Stump, a US Defence Department spokesman.

This disbursement uses CSF funds that are not restricted by the Secretary of Defence certification of Pakistan’s actions on the Haqqani network. In the 2016 US National Defence Authorisation Act, Pakistan was slated to receive up to $900m from the CSF but the disbursement of the remaining $350m will require the secretary of defence to certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani network.

“The secretary has not yet made a decision on certification,” Mr Stump said, noting that the Pakistani people had made significant sacrifices over the last three years in order to counter terrorism.

“We continue to be encouraged by Pakistan’s operations in North Waziristan and elsewhere in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Pakistan’s efforts have reduced the ability of some militant groups to use North Waziristan and Fata as a safe haven for terrorism,” the US official said.

Mr Stump pointed out that it was in the interest of Pakistan to “eliminate all safe havens and reduce the operational capacity of all militant organisations, particularly Al Qaeda, Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban, including the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba”. He noted that such other militant groups were a threat to both US and Pakistani interests and to regional stability.

In 2016, the US secretary of defence declined to certify that Pakistan met the Haqqani certification requirement, resulting in the loss of $300m from the CSF for 2015.

The Department of Defence also noted that CSF authority was not security assistance, but reimbursements to key cooperating nations for logistical, military, and other support provided to US combat operations. Pakistan is the largest recipient of CSF reimbursements, receiving roughly $14 billion since 2002. CSF is just one component of America’s broad and enduring partnership with Pakistan.

Earlier this month, the US Congress adopted the defence appropriation bill for 2017, which also sets aside $900m for providing economic and military assistance to Pakistan from the funds earmarked in 2016.

A recent study, authored jointly by former ambassador Hussain Haqqani and Lisa Curtis of the Heritage Foundation, suggested stopping US assistance to Pakistan, particularly to its defence establishment, to force Islamabad to follow US policy guidelines.

Ms Curtis is now a senior director for South and Central Asia at the White House National Security Council, which enables her to influence key policy decisions about Pakistan.

Last month, Congressman Ted Poe, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Terrorism, introduced a bill in the House of Representatives, seeking to get Pakistan declared a state sponsor of terrorism. The designation would automatically stop all civilian and military assistance to Pakistan. Mr Poe and his colleagues had introduced such bills in the past as well, which were all rejected because of lack of support.

Published in Dawn, April 12th, 2017