Reacting to the Obama Administration’s decision to suspend $800 million aid to Pakistan, Mukhtar said this would force the country to pull back troops from nearly 1,100 check posts set up along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The check post were set up as part of understanding with Washington to beef up security in the restive tribal belt.
The minister disclosed that $300 million of the suspended aid was specifically meant for troops serving in this troubled region.
Claiming that the proposed US move would sabotage efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaida in the region, he said “his money (US military aid) is not for fighting the war, but is money that we have spent already”.
Mukhtar told ‘Express 24/7’ news channel that Pakistan could not afford to keep its military out in the mountains or in border areas for a long period of time.
“The next step would be that the government or the armed forces will pull back the forces from the border areas,” he said.