Context
The US House Appropriations Committee gave the go-ahead to a defense spending bill on Tuesday that limits American aid for Pakistan and establishes a special bipartisan panel to evaluate Washington’s role in Afghanistan. The legislation will provide $530bn for the Defense Department and $119bn for the wars in Afghanistan and Iran. It will withhold 75% of the $1.1 billion dollar aid to Islamabad until the administration tells Congress how the money will be spent. The bill is $9bn less than what President Barack Obama had requested.
