home
India, for long a victim of American arming of Pakistan with lethal weapons, may finally find some relief if Washington is serious about its decision to review its aid to Islamabad and does a fair job of it. US officials had said on Monday that an inter-agency process to assess aid to Pakistan, including military support, was already underway following the latest coup. The review is taking place amid growing realisation within US strategic circles that American military aid to Pakistan is misplaced and misdirected: it has actually helped Islamabad arm itself for yet another war against India instead of equipping it for the war on terrorism.
Although Washington has indicated that it will not suspend any aid connected with the war in terror, a substantial portion of US military aid consists of weapons systems that is of little use in fighting the Taliban or hunting Al-Qaida and is instead strengthening the Pakistani military which has initiated three wars against India.
“It’s hard to make arguments that the bulk of what is being provided by the US is very effective for counter-terrorism operations,” Alan Kronstadt, a specialist in South Asian affairs at the non-partisan Congressional Research Service said recently. “A lot of the military assistance has been much more useful for a potential war with India.”
