Indian-American former US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley has reportedly said that Pakistan has a long history of harbouring terrorists and America should not give Islamabad even a dollar until it corrects its behaviour. She praised the Trump administration for wisely restricting financial assistance to the country.
Haley, who has founded a new policy group ‘Stand America Now’ that will focus on how to keep the US safe, strong, and prosperous, wrote in an op-ed that when the US provides aid to nations, “it is more than fair to ask what the U.S. gets in return for our generosity” but instead Pakistan routinely opposed the US position at the UN on several issues.
“In 2017, Pakistan received nearly $1 billion in US foreign aid, the sixth most of any country. Much of the aid went to the Pakistani military. Some went for road, highway, and energy projects to assist the Pakistani people,” Haley wrote in the op-ed ‘Foreign Aid Should Only Go To Friends’.
“On all key votes at the UN, Pakistan opposed the American position 76 percent of the time. Much more troubling, Pakistan also has a long history of harbouring terrorists who have killed US troops in Afghanistan,” she said.
Haley, the former Governor of South Carolina, added that the Trump administration has “already wisely restricted assistance to Pakistan, but there is much more to be done”.
Haley, who had stepped down as the US envoy to the UN at the end of last year, has previously strongly criticised Pakistan for continuing to harbour terrorists that turn around and kill American soldiers while taking billions of dollars in foreign aid from the US.