pakistan: On Saturday, a spokesperson for the Pentagon said that due to a lack of decisive actions in support of the South Asia strategy, the remaining 300m was reprogrammed withdrawing for good a previous offer to unfreeze the funds if Pakistan took decisive action against militant groups, according to The Guardian. The Trump administration says Islamabad offers sanctuary to Taliban fighters waging a 17-year war in Afghanistan, a charge Pakistan denies. The so-called Coalition Support Fund was suspended earlier this year after Donald Trump tweeted that the US had received nothing but lies and deceit in return for 33bn 25bn of financial support to Pakistan since 2002. The Pentagon spokesman Lieut Kon Faulkner said the funds would be reassigned to other urgent priorities following approval by Congress. Analysts noted the timing of the Pentagon's announcement may reflect irritation within Washington at Khan's decision to welcome the Iranian foreign minister, Javad Zarif, as his first diplomatic guest and the former cricketer's subsequent statements of support for the nuclear deal that Trump recently reneged upon. Imran Khan's new government offered no immediate response but the prime minister has called for more balanced relations with the US and is seeking to shift Pakistan's foreign policy away from a clientalistic relationship with the US, whose drone attacks and war on terror he blames for fostering extremism within Pakistan, towards allies closer in the region.
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