Pakistan plays down US cash claim

By M Ilyas Khan
BBC News, Karachi

Militants have extended their influence across Pakistan

Pakistan has played down a recent US report that in February the Pentagon refused its request for funds to fight Taleban and al-Qaeda militants.

The military's spokesman conceded that the funds had still not been released but called it a "routine matter".

Pakistan receives some $80m (£41m) a month from the US to help fight militants near the Afghanistan border.

Since last year there have been growing questions in Washington over the campaign against the militants.

'Delays sometimes'

Some critics say Pakistan has been overcharging the US or diverting funds to other defence-related or civil works projects that have nothing to do with fighting the militants.

Pakistan has denied these charges.

"We send details of the expenditure to the Pentagon and they express reservations over some expenses, or demand further details in others, which we clarify," army spokesman Maj-Gen Athar Abbas told the BBC.

"This is sometimes leads to delays. This is a routine matter and the funds will be released soon," he said.

A Pakistani foreign office spokesman refused to comment on the report.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO), which is the investigative arm of the US Congress, said in a report published in the US press this week that a Pakistani request for $81m was turned down by Pentagon in February.

This military aid is given to Pakistan under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), which was established by the US following the September 2001 al-Qaeda attacks there.

Pakistan has so far received more than $5.6bn under the CSF. But this year no disbursements have been made so far, officials say.

Under a separate programme, Pakistan receives $300m per year in traditional American military financing that pays for equipment and training.

In December 2007, the US Congress voted to put restrictions on this financing and withheld $50m because of President Pervez Musharraf's move to impose emergency rule in the country.