U.S. CUTS PAK OFFICERS FROM TROOP TRAINING PROGRAMME

ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON:President Donald Trump’s administration has quietly started cutting scores of Pakistani officers from coveted training and educational programmes that have been a hallmark of bilateral military relations for more than a decade, US officials say.

The move, which has not been previously reported, is one of the first known impacts from Trump’s decision this year to suspend US security assistance to Pakistan to compel it to crack down on Islamic militants.

The Pentagon and the Pakistani military did not comment directly on the decision or the internal deliberations, but officials from both countries privately criticised the move.

US officials, speaking to Reuters on the condition of anonymity, said they were worried the decision could undermine a key trust-building measure. Pakistani officials warned it could push their military to further look to China or Russia for leadership training.

The effective suspension of Pakistan from the US government’s International Military Education and Training programme (IMET) will close off places that had been set aside for 66 Pakistani officers this year, a state department spokesperson told Reuters. The places will either be unfilled or given to officers from other countries.

Dan Feldman, a former US special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, called the move “very short-sighted and myopic”. “This will have lasting negative impacts limiting the bilateral relationship well into the future,” Feldman told Reuters. The state department spokesperson said on condition of anonymity that the IMET cancellations were valued at $2.41 million so far. At least two other programmes have also been affected, the spokesperson said.

It is unclear precisely what level of military cooperation still continues outside the IMET programme.