WASHINGTON: The Senate Foreign Relations Committee yesterday [July 27] slashed 23 per cent off President Johnson’s Foreign Aid Bill, reducing it to two and a half billion from 3.2 billion requested by the President.

The Committee cut 205 million, almost a third, from the military aid programme asked by the Administration and 150 million dollars from the 750 million development loans sought during the current fiscal year. It was one of the sharpest foreign aid cuts voted by the Foreign Relations Committee headed by Senator Fulbright.

The Committee also banned Export Import Bank loans to the developing countries for purchasing US arms. Since the Indo-Pakistan war, for instance, the Export Import Bank gave India nearly 18 million dollars for buying “non-lethal” spares as against two million to Pakistan. Apart from the Viet-Nam war the disclosure that Export Import Bank loans were being utilised to buy arms by some developing countries caused the “rebellion” against the Aid Bill in the Foreign Relations Committee and the subsequent cuts.

The aid cuts also reflect a feeling, as Senator Fulbright put it, that “with our domestic condition in disarray there is too much preoccupation with these foreign affairs.”

With the monstrous war in Viet-Nam eating up 70,000,000 dollars a day, which has practically paralysed the much publicised great society programme at home, few Senators and Congressmen are willing to approve large funds for disbursing abroad.

Consequently, Pakistan and other developing countries would do well to plan on less and less of American aid in coming years.

[Meanwhile, as reported by agencies at the United Nations,] Jordan today [July 28] complained to the United Nations of cruel, inhuman and barbaric treatment by the Israelis of Jordanian prisoners of war.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2017