US mustn’t give even a dollar to Pak: Haley

In an interview to The Atlantic on December 7, the outgoing US Ambassador to UN Nikki Haley stated the US should not give any financial aid to Pakistan until it stops harbouring terrorism on its land.

Haley said: “Giving them over a billion dollars, and they continue to harbour terrorists that turn around and kill our soldiers. That’s never okay. We shouldn’t even give them a dollar until they correct it.”

The outgoing envoy asserted Pakistan should be given guidelines to handle terrorism before handing over any financial help to Islamabad. “Tell them, ‘You have to do these things before we will even start to help you with your military or start to help you on counterterrorism.’ It’s those types of things that you really want to kind of look at,” Haley emphasised.

Talking to the interviewer Uri Friedman, Haley stated the foreign aid should be more transactional and the US should offer it to the nations who reflect goodwill.

In September, Pentagon had decided to cancel the financial aid worth $300 million to Pakistan due to the growing concerns regarding the country’s failure to combat terrorism. In August, the US Congress had also slashed the security-oriented financial aid to Pakistan. Giving them over a billion dollars, and they continue to harbour terrorists that turn around and kill our soldiers. That’s never okay. We shouldn’t even give them a dollar until they correct it.

— NIKKI HALEY, US ambassador to UN

Haley on Khashoggi killing Meanwhile, Haley also said Washington cannot give “a pass” to Saudi Arabia for the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. She said: “The whole situation with Khashoggi is we can’t give them a pass. And the reason is you have Saudi government officials that did this in a Saudi consulate.”

Noting Saudi Arabia is a “complete partner” of the US and has helped in fighting with Iran, Haley pointed out: “I think the main thing is: No, we don’t condone this; no, we’re not going to continue to be your partners if you continue to use thuggish behaviour. That country is our complete and only real partner when it comes to fighting Iran, so it’s a balancing act, you have to do both,” Haley reiterated.