Islamabad, JULY24: The US intends to spend $101 million to support Pakistani democracy, counter militancy, and keep Islamabad from becoming too dependent on China, according to a top US official who made the request in writing to the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday.
In the US, relevant officials regularly submit financing plans, budget requests, and policy recommendations to several legislative committees. Testimonies like these are a component of the legislative process and are meant to educate and convince legislators about the significance of proposed policies and spending.
Donald Lu, the assistant secretary for the region, presented the overall budget proposal for South and Central Asia, which comes out to $1.01 billion. He stated that this is a 1.9 percent decline from the fiscal year 2023.
“We continue to face opportunities and challenges with Pakistan,” he said to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “The straightlining of our $101 million budget for Pakistan is requested in the President’s Budget.”
“The funds would be utilized to combat violent extremism and terrorism, to support economic reforms and debt management to help stabilize Pakistan’s economy and prevent further overreliance on the PRC [People’s Republic of China], and to strengthen democracy and civil society,” he said.
The US official claimed that the US was finding it difficult to compete with China in the region, which is attempting to establish military and commercial footholds in the Indian Ocean. The US official was widely accused by the party of former prime minister Imran Khan of being responsible for the downfall of his administration, an accusation that Washington has refuted.The US government has to “live in a world of constrained budgets,” he added.
“The best way to deal with an assertive PRC is to show them that we have more to offer in the form of better commercial deals, better development opportunities, and better solutions to their security issues,” he continued.
