After Pakistan supported the US on the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, the western power has decided to reimburse USD $688 million to India’s neighbor. The Asian country had provided a support of about 140,000 coalition troops to the US on its borders, while the countries were trying to fight terrorism.
The reimbursement will be made in what appears to be a fall back to the old policy of appeasement, to seek an exit from war-torn Afghanistan. The Congress in Pakistan was notified by the Pentagon about the reimbursement of $688 million under the coalition support fund.
The decision to send the money was notified by Ashton Carter, the Deputy Defense Secretary in a letter dated December 6, 2012. Carter wrote, “In making this determination, I find that the reimbursement is consistent with the national security interest of the United States and will not adversely affect the balance of power in the region”. Defence officials said that in summer, the US officials reimbursed $1.118 billion under the Coalition Support Fund, which has now crossed $10.5 billion mark after 9/11.
A spokesperson from defence said that it is a concrete illustration that their security relations with Pakistan are slowly moving forward. US officials opined that without the co-operation from Pakistan, it can be a herculean task to make an exit from Afghanistan and will also require serious effort to bring back its equipment and troops from the rugged country.
