State Dept Says US and Pakistan Will Resume Joint Military Training Programme
05:44 24.12.2019(updated 06:49 24.12.2019)
In 2018, the International Military Education and Training programme (IMET) was suspended by US President Donald Trump following his accusing the Islamic Republic of Pakistan of having not made enough of an effort to fight the Taliban*.
The US administration has decided to continue the military training programme for Pakistan, the US State Department said.
The US government "has approved the resumption of the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program for Pakistan as one such exception, subject to congressional approval", the spokeswoman for the State Department said as cited by the Reuters news agency.
She added that the US President's decision to abandon the programme authorized "narrow exceptions for programs that support vital US national security interests". According to the spokesperson, the decision to resume the military training for Pakistan was "one such exception".
The programme "provides an opportunity to increase bilateral cooperation between our countries on shared priorities", the State Department spokesperson added. "We want to continue to build on this foundation through concrete actions that advance regional security and stability."
The US administration has long blamed the South Asian nation's agencies for cooperating with Islamist radicals, including the Taliban*, but they admit that progress has been made over the past few months.
Islamabad has rejected the allegations and called it 'counterproductive' to threaten security aid.
*Taliban is a terrorist group banned in Russia
© Sputnik
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