Pakistan says it doesn't need US military aid The $800 million in cuts in US aid to Pakistan are the strongest

indicator yet o f the deteriorating relationship between the two countries. Temp Headline Image A Pakistani army soldier takes a position during a military operation against mi litants in Pakistan's Khurram tribal region, Sunday, July 10. Pakistans Army said Monday that the $800 million in cuts in US aid to Pakistan wont affect its abili ty to conduct combat operations. (Mohammad Zubair/AP) By Issam Ahmed, Correspondent posted July 11, 2011 at 12:51 pm EDT Islamabad, Pakistan Pakistans Army said Monday that a US military aid cut worth some $800 million wont affect its ability to conduct combat operations. Analysts call the cuts the str ongest indicator yet of the deteriorating nature of the relationship between the two countries and say it could cause the Pakistani military to retreat to a mor e hostile anti-US position. "The Army in the past, as well as at present, has conducted successful military operations using its own resources without any external support whatsoever, Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, told the AFP. He added that the Army had not re ceived any official correspondence from the US on the matter. General Abbas s statement might be a stretch, but according to Ayesha Siddiqa, m ilitary analyst and author of Military Inc, the symbolism of the cut is likely to outweigh the operational significance, despite the fact that the cut would accou nt for roughly 40 percent of the $2 billion in military assistance America gives Pakistan annually. RELATED US aid to Pakistan: What do the cuts mean? Its an indicator of relations getting pushed further apart, she says, adding that w ith the cut the US appears to have called the Pakistanis militarys bluff on a rece nt statement attributed to Army chief General Kayani in which he said that US mi litary aid to Pakistan would be better spent on civilian purposes. What would suspending $800 million look like? Some $300 million of the money that the US is suspending was set to go to Pakist an in the form of reimbursement to the Army for its deployment of troops along t he Afghanistan border. Some of the money was also planned to go to Pakistan in t he form of equipment, though when the country ordered more than 100 US military trainers to leave the country recently, it refused to accept equipment from the US, according to the New York Times Itll start a debate, lets see where it goes and how far the Americans want to take it, says Ms. Siddiqa, adding that a failure by the Pakistani military to comply w ith US demands to fight terror groups, especially the Haqqani network, more effe ctively could eventually lead to further cuts and even economic sanctions. Pakistans military has been under immense domestic and international pressure in recent months, following the raid to kill Osama bin Laden and another US raid on a naval base in Karachi attributed which analysts attributed inside assistance. Last week, Adm. Mike Mullen became the first US official to publicly blame the killing of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad on Pakistans government. What happens to Pakistan s civilian government? Cyril Almeida, a political analyst and Assistant Editor at Dawn, Pakistans leadin

g English daily, says the cuts could harm Pakistans civilian government more than the military. The Army will dig in its heels. Its going them to cut a check, and they will cut them he State Bank or loans from private sector. is flowing, this will guarantee that things my]. to call up the Finance Ministry and ask a check, which will be financed by t Perversely, at the very time US aid will deteriorate more [for the econo

The cuts could also have a harmful impact on Pakistans democracy, adds Siddiqa. Hi storically, [foreign aid] is one of the reasons why political governments have b een tolerated [by the military] in the first place. If they are not bringing in money, then why have them? Popular opinion in Pakistan is overwhelmingly in favor of less US involvement in the region and the Army may now be tempted to reassess its key partnerships, ac cording to Saeed Shafqat, Director of the Centre for Public Policy and Governanc e at the Foreman Christian College University in Lahore. But, warns Mr. Almeida, the political analyst, a further deterioration in ties w ith the US could leave Pakistan increasingly isolated on the world stage, given that it has not ramped up strategic cooperation with China or the Gulf states an d the peace process with India remains slow. If at some point the Pakistan Army thought the US was no friend to Pakistan, it s hould have cultivated new friends in the mean time, he says. RELATED US aid to Pakistan: What do the cuts mean?