Pakistan Concerned By US Financial Aid Cut To Afghanistan - Senior Lawmaker

Pakistan Concerned by US Financial Aid Cut to Afghanistan - Senior Lawmaker

The US financial assistance to Afghanistan should be continued because a withdrawal will cause the Afghan government to lose control, Saleem Mandviwalla, the deputy chairman of Pakistan's upper chamber, told Sputnik on Wednesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2020) The US financial assistance to Afghanistan should be continued because a withdrawal will cause the Afghan government to lose control, Saleem Mandviwalla, the deputy chairman of Pakistan's upper chamber, told Sputnik on Wednesday.

Earlier in the week, the United States decided to slash $1 billion of financial aid to Afghanistan, threatening further cuts after the country's political factions had failed to form a new government.

"It can create [a situation when the] government to lose control and [not being able] to support their system and their military and their people. So I don't think civil assistance to Afghanistan should stop and it should continue by all the countries which were giving civil assistance to Afghanistan. So that is what our concern is," Mandviwalla said.

On February 29, the US and the Taliban inked a peace agreement in the Qatari capital of Doha, according to which an intra-Afghan negotiation was scheduled to begin on March 10. That, however, did not come to pass prompting US State Secretary Mike Pompeo to visit Afghanistan on Monday in an unsuccessful attempt to resuscitate the talks.