THE HAGUE, Nov 5: The Netherlands has suspended aid to Pakistan after the imposition of emergency rule, Dutch Development Aid Minister Bert Koenders said on Monday.

“This is a dramatic coup d’etat that we strongly disapprove of and that undermines Pakistan’s democracy, development and population,” the minister told the ANP news agency.

The Netherlands had budgeted some 15 million euros in aid to Pakistan for 2007, of which some 12 million euros has been spent.

The remainder was now suspended, the minister’s spokesman Franceso Mascini said.

For the next year, the Netherlands had planned to give some 40 million euros in aid to Pakistan, mostly for education, which is now under review.

—AFP