Upcoming budget: Donald Lu says US govt has sought $101m for Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The Biden administration has recommended $101 million for Pakistan to help it strengthen democracy and fight terrorism.

State Department’s Assistant Secretary, Donald Lu, appeared before the House Foreign Affairs committee on Tuesday to explain the 2025 budget request for South and Central Asian countries.

“In Pakistan, we face ongoing challenges and opportunities,” Lu told the House members that the budget request for Pakistan was $101 million.

Lu said the money will be used to fight terrorism and extremism and to support economic reforms and debt management, besides strengthening democracy and civil society, The aid will also help stabilise Pak economy and prevent Pakistan’s further over reliance on China.

“In Pakistan we are focused on supporting democracy and human rights while advancing our critical fight against terrorism,” he said in his opening statement.

In Afghanistan, we continue to emphasize our deep concerns about the situation for women, girls and minority groups.

He said, “In every meeting we make clear to the Taliban that there will be no significant steps toward normaliaation unless the rights of all Afghans are respected,” adding the US government continues to call on the Taliban to release all US citizens currently in Taliban custody. “What are the trade-offs? In order to advance our Indo-Pacific goals, we are redirecting additional resources to South Asia. The president is requesting $585.7 million dollars for South Asia, that’s a 4.8 per cent increase over FY23,” he told the panel.