Will Pakistan-US ties hit another low after Trump's suspension of aid?
The Trump administration has paused foreign aid to Pakistan, along with other countries, for 90 days to review foreign assistance through an “America First” lens.
![US President Donald Trump speaks signs an executive order [Photo: Reuters] US President Donald Trump speaks signs an executive order [Photo: Reuters]](https://images-cdn.trtworld.com/trtworld/w664/h374/q70/21492156_0-101-5500-3098.jpeg)
US President Donald Trump speaks signs an executive order [Photo: Reuters]
The United States has suspended aid to Pakistan, leading to the temporary halt of several key projects as they await a review to be conducted by officials.
This decision comes days after Donald Trump, who in his first week as the 47th US president, ordered a pause to review if aid allocation was aligned with his foreign policy.
The suspension halts foreign aid programmes to several countries for a 90-day review period. There are 11 governance programmes affected by this order in Pakistan.
“The impacts could be considerable in Pakistan. Pakistan is one of the largest recipients of US development assistance in South Asia,” said Michael Kugelman, Washington-based director for the Wilson Centre’s South Asia Institute.
“Additionally, with US-Pakistan relations having been downsized since the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, the two sides have struggled to identify new anchors for cooperation,” he told TRT World.
Trump’s move follows a "stop-work" order by the US State Department on Friday for all existing foreign assistance and paused new aid, according to a cable seen by Reuters news agency.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking last week, emphasised this new diplomatic stance: “Every dollar we spend, every programme we fund, and every policy we pursue must be justified with the answer to three simple questions: Does it make America safer? Does it make America stronger? Does it make America more prosperous?”
On Friday, Rubio sent a cable to all US diplomatic posts about this decision. The cable provides a waiver only for emergency food assistance and foreign military financing for Israel and Egypt.
The impact of this freeze could be profound, given that the United States has long been the world’s largest provider of humanitarian aid.
What’s at stake for Pakistan?
The abrupt freeze that highlights the Trump administration’s commitment to its “America First” reveals scant regard for the disruption caused to Pakistan’s developmental landscape.
Last year, the US gave Pakistan more than $116 million in financial assistance, markedly lower than the $1 billion that Islamabad received in 2014 as part of assisting the US in its war in Afghanistan.
Numerous key development projects in Pakistan have come to a halt. Among them is the Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP), a flagship initiative promoting the protection of cultural heritage, including historical buildings, archaeological sites, and indigenous crafts.
Critical energy programmes such as the Power Sector Improvement Activity and Pakistan Climate Financing Activity, alongside economic growth initiatives like the Pakistan Private Investment Initiative and Social Protection Activity, are now frozen mid-implementation.
The agriculture sector, too, is reeling from the pause, with projects like Climate Smart Agriculture and Recharge Pakistan left in limbo.
Democracy and governance programmes—ranging from strengthening electoral processes to building peace in conflict-prone regions—are among the 11 initiatives affected by the freeze.
Education and health projects, including efforts to improve girls’ education and tackle tuberculosis, have also been shelved.
While completed projects like the Gomal Zam Command Area Development and the FATA Economic Revitalisation Programme offer some consolation, the suspension reflects a broader issue of disengagement, potentially sabotaging long-term progress in Pakistan’s energy, agriculture, governance, and social sectors.
The suspension can dent the already strained ties between Islamabad and Washington.
“Development support had been one of the few constants against a backdrop of a lot of uncertainty about the future of bilateral ties. Regardless of whether the aid is resumed, this move by the Trump administration will bring another challenge to an already-tenuous relationship,” said Kugelman.
You are not them
The move has sparked particular attention in Pakistan. According to Geo TV, a US Consulate official in Karachi confirmed the pause in aid assistance as part of the broader executive order.
Tammy Bruce, a spokesperson for the State Department, reiterated the administration’s stance: “President Trump stated clearly that the United States is no longer going to blindly dole out money with no return for the American people. Reviewing and realigning foreign assistance on behalf of hardworking taxpayers is not just the right thing to do; it is a moral imperative.”
Pakistan has historically received US funding for a range of sectors, including energy, agriculture, health, water management, and climate initiatives.
Zeeshan Salahuddin, Director of the Centre for Global and Regional Connectivity at the Pakistani think tank Tabadlab, spoke to TRT World, clarifying that this suspension is not targeted specifically at Pakistan.
“It’s a suspension of USAID globally, of which Pakistan is naturally a recipient. That said, given that USAID funding to Pakistan has been declining over the last few years, this is unlikely to have the devastating impact it might have had a decade ago,” Salahuddin said.
He added that military aid, once a significant source of funding for Pakistan—over $30 billion during the War on Terror—has already dried up in recent years.
“Pakistan used to receive quite a bit of military aid for the war on terror but even that has dried up,” Salahuddin said.
“This is, in some ways, a wake-up call for Pakistan to look inward and explore private sector solutions to address pressing issues in education, health, and climate change, and social protection,” Salahuddin added.
Next 90 days
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern about the executive order, urging Washington to reconsider its approach.
“The United States is one of the largest aid providers, and it is vital that we work constructively to jointly shape a strategic path forward,” he said.
Guterres called for exemptions to ensure critical development and humanitarian programmes for vulnerable communities, whose lives and livelihoods depend on this support, continue uninterrupted.
Predicting the administration’s direction during the review period is a challenge. Salahuddin pointed to the erratic nature of Trump’s policymaking, often driven by late-night tweets, as evidence of the unpredictability.
“Trying to predict what the next 90 days will look like for the Trump administration is kind of like predicting chaos theory in mathematics,” Salahuddin said.
He added that this executive order was in line with Trump’s long-standing campaign spiel that declared that his administration wasn’t going to spend the American taxpayer’s money abroad, particularly the USAID, but focus inward instead.
“Despite the global suspension of USAID funding, one country will remain untouched—Israel—given its exemption from these restrictions,” Salahuddin added.
History of aid suspensions
Pakistan has long been one of the largest recipients of US aid, receiving over $32 billion in direct support in the last two decades alone. But the relationship has often been fraught.
Aid was suspended in the 1990s under President George H. W. Bush over Pakistan’s nuclear programme.
The Obama administration also froze $800 million in military aid in 2011, citing frustrations over the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.
In 2018, Trump halted $2 billion in security assistance, accusing Pakistan of giving protection to Taliban fighters.
His tweet at the time read: “The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. No more!”