Cash-strapped Pakistan requests US to restore military funding

Pakistan which has been cash-strapped for long has urged the United States to restore military funding and sales. The same was earlier suspended by former US President Donald Trump.

"It is important that the US restores, for Pakistan, Foreign Military Financing and Foreign Military Sales, suspended by the previous administration," Pakistan's envoy to US Masood Khan said while addressing a seminar.

Pakistan's relations with the US have been stuck in uncertainty. With the US and China tensions growing, Pakistan finds itself in a tough spot.

US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Elizabeth Horst who was also part of the event focused on the need to help rebuild the Pakistan economy. She urged Islamabad to work with the International Monetary Fund, a report by the Dawn said.

The reforms that Pakistan and the IMF have agreed to are not easy. But it is crucial that Pakistan take these actions to bring the country back to sound financial footing, avoid falling into further debt, and grow Pakistan's economy, she also said.

The recent increase in high-level diplomatic engagements and dialogues have given Pakistan a ray of hope again with regard to repairing strained ties with the US.

The conference held at the Wilson Centre in Washington focused on how the US-Pakistan relationship can be crafted against the backdrop of several challenging developments.

Ambassador Khan while responding to a question said that Pakistan placed its first order for Russian oil and did so in consultation with the US government.

He also spoke about Pakistan's role in bringing stability in Afghanistan.

"Afghanistan's stability is imperative, first and foremost, for its own people who have suffered grievously over the past four decades," Khan said according to the Dawn report.