US halts aid to some Pakistan military units
Matthew Lee, The Associated Press, Washington | Fri, 10/22/2010 10:56 AM
The Obama administration is withholding assistance to some Pakistani military units over concerns they may have been involved in human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings and torture.
A senior U.S. official said Thursday that aid to a "small number of units linked to gross human rights abuses" had been withheld under 1997 legislation championed by Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy. The so-called Leahy amendment bars U.S. military assistance from going to foreign armed forces suspected of committing atrocities.
The official says the administration was working with Pakistani officials to improve its human rights performance. The official said the withholding of aid, first reported by The New York Times, would not affect broader U.S. support for Pakistan's military.
