US snub to Pakistan on Haqqani terrorist network shot in the arm for India

NEW DELHI: The United States has pulled up Pakistan for failing to act adequately against the Haqqani terrorist network and said this could impact disbursement of funds provided to combat terror, a development that could have come as a shot in the arm for India just ahead of the national security adviser-level talks with Pakistan on Sunday.

India has maintained that the Haqqani network has been targeting its assets and projects in Afghanistan at the best of Pakistan Army and intelligence service ISI. The US has told the Nawaz Sharif government that it will not be certifying to the Congress that Pakistan’s counter-terrorism operation in North Waziristan has damaged the Haqqani network.

The US Department of Defence conveyed this to the Pakistan Embassy in Washington, DC as well as to the authorities in Islamabad, Washington, DC-based officials said. This means, the US could stall the disbursement of the next instalment of Coalition Support Fund (CSF) to Pakistan.

The CSF is imperative for Pakistan to narrow its current account deficit and keep economy on track, officials said. America’s decision could dent ties in the run-up to Pakistan PM’s scheduled visit to Washington, DC this October.

Experts said the decision could also complicate matters in the Af-Pak region where Afghanistan-Pakistan ties have taken a hit after allegations that Pakistan Army continues to harbour Taliban bases from where attacks were being launched into Afghanistan.

Haqqani network chief Sirajuddin Haqqani took over as Taliban’s deputy chief during the succession plan in the group that followed the disclosure about Taliban chief Mullah Omar’s death earlier this month. The US has been reimbursing Pakistan for operations and maintenance costs incurred in direct support of its operations in Afghanistan since 2001. So far $13 billion has been reimbursed to Pakistan under CSF.

Indian government has also alleged in the past that Pakistan is diverting this to fund cross-border terror into India.

The CSF was earlier scheduled to end following the US drawdown from Afghanistan in December 2014, but the Obama government late last year extended the programme for another year through a legislation which envisaged additional conditions, including a requirement for certification by the defence secretary that military operations in North Waziristan have significantly damaged the safe haven of Haqqani network and impacted movement of its leaders.