Links
US plans $2 billion more in military aid for Pakistan
The Obama administration announced Friday that it would seek an additional $2 billion in aid for Pakistan's military, despite continuing disagreements with Islamabad over the war against militants.
The five-year package, which supplements $7.5 billion in civilian aid to Pakistan, would raise annual military aid to about $400 million a year from $300 million. The plan is subject to congressional approval and won't come up for consideration until next year, congressional sources said.
The announcement came at the end of a week of high-level meetings between U.S. and Pakistani officials in Washington, which were used to promote an image of harmony between the countries.
Behind the scenes, President Obama and other U.S. officials were prodding Islamabad to move more forcefully against militant strongholds on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
And even as the administration touts the additional military aid, it also is moving to cut off assistance to a half-dozen Pakistani military units after concluding that they had killed unarmed civilians and prisoners, two U.S. officials said.