Islamabad:
Pakistan has hit back at the US for suspending military aid to Pakistan. In a statement, DG, Inter-Services Public Relations, told Pakistan media, "Pak does not need foreign aid for anti-terror operations. We conducted SWAT and Waziristan operations without any aid."
George Perkovich, an expert on Pakistan with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said the suspension of aid represent "the end of happy talk," where the US tries to paper over differences between the two nations.
This comes a day after the US decided cut backits military aid to Pakistan following Islamabad's request for a "significant cutback" of American military trainers on its soil. (
Read: US to suspend millions in aid to the Pakistani military)
"A series of events over the last eight months have affected our bilateral relations. As a result, the Pakistan Army has requested a 'significant cutback' of US military trainers, and limited our ability to obtain visas," Pentagon spokesman Col Dave Lapan said.
"While the Pakistani military leadership tells us this is a temporary step, the reduced presence of our trainers and other personnel means we can't deliver the assistance that requires training and support to be effective," Lapan said.
He, however, refrained from discussing any specific figure of aid suspension to Pakistan.
The White House Chief of Staff, Tom Donilon, however, confirmed that the figure was indeed US $800 million as reported by
The New York Times.