’Pakistan in the pocket of China...’: US presidential hopeful Nikki Haley calls for foreign aid cuts

Indian-American Nikki Haley who recently launched her 2024 presidential bid, on 26 February commented that debt-laden Pakistan is in the pocket of China, like Zimbabwe.

Expressing her opinion on the Chinese dominance in countries in form of debt, Haley took to microblogging website and wrote, "Belarus, in the pocket of Russia. Zimbabwe, in the pocket of China. Pakistan, in the pocket of China. Cut all their aid."

Earlier on 24 February, the debt-laden Pakistan's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced that State Bank of Pakistan received funds worth $700 million from China Development Bank.

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"AlhamdoLilah! Funds $700 million [were] received today by [the] State Bank of Pakistan from [the] China Development Bank," Finance Minister Ishaq Dar announced on Twitter.

As of 17 February, country's foreign exchange reserves stand at $3.25 billion. But, the the delay in the revival of the $6.5 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme has made it difficult for the government to achieve this goal, a Geo News report cites.

According to The News, Pakistan is aiming to refinance Chinese loans up to $2 billion by the end of February or the first week of March 2023.

The South Asian country's external debt servicing obligation for the ongoing fiscal year 2022-23 is $23 billion, of which $6 billion has been repaid and $4 billion rolled over. Also, it has further repayment obligations of $75 billion during FY24-26.

Meanwhile, the Former UN Ambassador and South Carolina Governor's comment on Chinese dominance arrived hours after she said, that she would 'cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate it' if elected to power, indicating its fingers towards Pakistan.

"I will cut every cent in foreign aid for countries that hate us. A strong America doesn't pay off the bad guys. A proud America doesn't waste our people's hard-earned money. And the only leaders who deserve our trust are those who stand up to our enemies and stand beside our friends", she had said in a op-ed the New York Post.

Citing an example of the US's aid to Pakistan, she said that "The Biden administration resumed military aid to Pakistan, though it's home to at least a dozen terrorist organizations and its government is deeply in hock to China. Team Biden restored half a billion dollars to a corrupt United Nations agency that's supposed to help the Palestinian people but in fact covers for deeply anti-Semitic propaganda against our ally Israel".

Adding more, she had commented that the US spent $46 billion on foreign aid last year and had been aiding countries for decades.

"This is not just Joe Biden. It's been happening for decades under presidents of both parties. Our foreign-aid policies are stuck in the past. They typically operate on autopilot, with no consideration for the conduct of the countries that receive our aid. It will take a determined president to root out these taxpayer rip-offs," she had said.

With agency inputs.