Budgetary Snapshot: US Assistance to Pakistan
Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 3:43PM | Rebecca Williams Pakistan, a key US ally in the struggle against terrorist organizations and the Taliban, has become one of the leading recipients of US foreign and security assistance, receiving more than $16 billion in such support since fiscal year (FY) 2002. This funding has focused on regional terrorism, political stability and democratization, nuclear weapons proliferation, human rights protection and economic development.
This analysis examines the balance between US assistance programs whose principal objective is development and humanitarian support (including programs developed with US strategic and foreign policy interests in mind) and security assistance programs aimed at strengthening the Pakistan military and security forces.[1]
As the above graph demonstrates, security assistance has made up the bulk of US assistance to Pakistan, constituting roughly 73 percent.
The greatest part of the security assistance package has been reimbursements to the Pakistani budget for Pakistan’s military and security support for US counterterrorism activities, known as Coalition Support Funds (CSF). The US has provided about $7.6 billion in CSF reimbursements from FY 2002-FY 2009, or roughly $946 million a year.
There was a sizable increase in security-related funding in FY 2009 primarily due to the establishment of the new Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund (PCF) and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund (PCCF) funded in the FY 2009 Emergency Supplemental. The PCF was initially provided with $400 million in DOD funds, which remained available through FY 2010. The FY 2009 emergency supplemental also provided $700 million to State for the PCCF, although these funds only became available September 30, 2009, and remain available through FY 2010. Therefore, even though PCCF was funded in FY 2009, it will be spent in FY 2010, meaning that if the President’s request is fully funded, the total amount of assistance in FY 2010 to Pakistan will actually be greater than FY 2009.
Assistance to Pakistan is provided through a number of budget accounts in the Defense (050), International Affairs (150), and Agriculture (350) budgets. After the $7.6 billion in CSF reimbursements through FY 2009, the second largest volume of support - $3.5 billion – has come through State’s Economic Support Funds (ESF). ESF spending can be used with developmental goals in mind, but the decision to provide ESF is generally driven by US strategic and foreign policy goals. In addition, security-driven Foreign Military Financing (FMF) has made up 12 percent of total assistance to Pakistan since FY 2002, with nearly $1.9 billion in military equipment and training to improve Pakistan’s defense capabilities.
Nearly three quarters of US assistance to Pakistan is provided through the Defense Department budget, including CSF, Global Train and Equip (Section 1206), the Pakistan Frontier Corps train and equip program, the PCF account, and the Pentagon’s counternarcotics funds. Most of the remaining 28 percent is funded through State and USAID accounts.
[1] Development/ Humanitarian assistances includes: Global Health and Child Services (GHSC), Development Assistance (DA), Economic Support Funds (ESF), Food Aid (PL 480, Title I, II and Section 416 (b)), Human Rights and Democracy Fund (HRDF), International Disaster Assistance (IDA), and Migration and Refugee Assistance (MRA). Security Assistance includes: Foreign Military Financing (FMF), International Military Education and Training (IMET), International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE), Peacekeeping (PKO), Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capabilities Fund (PCCF); Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund (PCF); Section 1206; Coalition Support Funds (CSF), Counternarcoitcs Funds (CN), Nonproliferation, Anti-Terrorism, Demining and Related Programs (NADR), Pakistan Frontier Corp train and equip (FC).