ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's powerful army chief has called for US aid to the military to be converted to civilian assistance, an unusual move that reflects growing domestic criticism of the Pakistani armed forces.
General Ashfaq Kayani said money being spent to support the military was more urgently needed for ''reducing the burden on the common man''.
Although the comment, made on Thursday, is unlikely to have a tangible effect in the short term, it could help shape an emerging debate in Washington about the wisdom of spending billions of dollars to support a military that many US politicians view with deep suspicion.
In Pakistan General Kayani's comment was seen as an attempt to win back for the military some of the public affection that has been lost since US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad last month.
In recent weeks General Kayani has been under intense pressure from the public and his officers to distance Pakistan from the US. He has responded by ordering most of the estimated 135 US military trainers in Pakistan out of the country and by publicly resisting American calls for greater co-operation.
The US has provided about $US20 billion ($18.8 billion) in assistance to Pakistan over the past decade.
Most of the money has gone to the military, although the Obama administration has shifted the balance towards civilian aid in recent years.
A Pakistani political analyst, Hasan-Askari Rizvi, said General Kayani's statement could put pressure on the civilian government by reminding Pakistanis that it was not only the military that depended on support from Washington.
''The military is saying that if the civilians want to revise Pakistan's foreign policy, they should go ahead and do it,'' Dr Rizvi said.
Pakistan's armed forces have traditionally dictated the nation's security and foreign policies, with weak civilian authorities playing a marginal role.
But with criticism of the military rising, politicians have become bolder in challenging that. This week, one politician called for the nation's intelligence budget to be made public.
General Kayani and his top commanders accused civilian critics of trying ''to drive a wedge between the army, different organs of the state and, more seriously, the people of Pakistan, whose support the army has always considered vital for its operations against terrorists''.
The Washington Post
General Ashfaq Kayani said money being spent to support the military was more urgently needed for ''reducing the burden on the common man''.
Although the comment, made on Thursday, is unlikely to have a tangible effect in the short term, it could help shape an emerging debate in Washington about the wisdom of spending billions of dollars to support a military that many US politicians view with deep suspicion.
In Pakistan General Kayani's comment was seen as an attempt to win back for the military some of the public affection that has been lost since US Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in the garrison city of Abbottabad last month.
In recent weeks General Kayani has been under intense pressure from the public and his officers to distance Pakistan from the US. He has responded by ordering most of the estimated 135 US military trainers in Pakistan out of the country and by publicly resisting American calls for greater co-operation.
The US has provided about $US20 billion ($18.8 billion) in assistance to Pakistan over the past decade.
Most of the money has gone to the military, although the Obama administration has shifted the balance towards civilian aid in recent years.
A Pakistani political analyst, Hasan-Askari Rizvi, said General Kayani's statement could put pressure on the civilian government by reminding Pakistanis that it was not only the military that depended on support from Washington.
''The military is saying that if the civilians want to revise Pakistan's foreign policy, they should go ahead and do it,'' Dr Rizvi said.
Pakistan's armed forces have traditionally dictated the nation's security and foreign policies, with weak civilian authorities playing a marginal role.
But with criticism of the military rising, politicians have become bolder in challenging that. This week, one politician called for the nation's intelligence budget to be made public.
General Kayani and his top commanders accused civilian critics of trying ''to drive a wedge between the army, different organs of the state and, more seriously, the people of Pakistan, whose support the army has always considered vital for its operations against terrorists''.
The Washington Post