WASHINGTON: The resumption of training and education facilities for Pakistani military officials has cleared the final Congressional hurdles, allowing the US administration to resume the programme, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

The US State Department announced on Dec 19 that the Trump administration has decided to resume the International Military Education and Training (IMET) for Pakistan after a two-year suspension.

The announcement, however, required a Congressional approval to become effective. Congress was required to convey its objections, if any, to the State Department by Jan 3. Since Congress did not respond within the given period, the programme became effective.

The Trump administration suspended all US military assistance to Pakistan, including IMET, in early 2018, after accusing Islamabad of not doing enough to stop terrorism.

However, Trump administration’s overall security assistance suspension remains in effect

Earlier on Saturday, a senior US official announced that President Trump has authorised IMET’s resumption for Pakistan.

The announcement followed the removal of final Congressional hurdle on Friday.

“To strengthen military-to-military cooperation on shared priorities & advance US national security, President of the United States authorised the resumption of IMET for Pakistan,” Alice G. Wells, the in-charge of South and Central Asian affairs at the State Department, wrote in a tweet.

But she also made it clear that the Trump administration’s “overall security assistance suspension for Pakistan remains in effect”.

The State Department had also included Pakistan in its 2019-20 budget requests for those South and Central Asia countries who were to participate in IMET.

Congressional committees with jurisdiction over the process did not raise objection to the proposed resumption at any stage of the process.

Diplomatic observers in Washington see the resumption as indicating growing US interest in restoring once close relations with Pakistan’s military establishment.

In June 2019, Washington app­roved $125 million for Pakistan to provide technical support to its fleet of F-16 aircraft, practically ending the freeze on military assistance to the country.

The approval was announced days after a White House meeting between Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Trump, which sought to “reset” troubled US-Pakistan ties. Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa accompanied the prime minister and remained in Washington after his departure as well for a series of meetings with US defence officials.

And on Friday, US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo telephoned Gen Bajwa to explain President Trump’s decision to eliminate Iranian military commander Maj Gen Qassem Soleimani.

IMET has been a pillar of US-Pakistani military ties. Apparently, Pakistan’s support for the US-led Afghan peace process also encouraged Washington to resume IMET and provide spare parts for the F-16 fleet.

The US military traditionally has sought to shield programmes like IMET from political tensions, arguing that the ties built by bringing foreign military officers to the US pay long-term dividends.

“The resumption of IMET for Pakistan would not only benefit Islamabad, it will also enable US military officials to maintain ties in a strategically sensitive region,” a diplomatic observer said.

The State Department administers IMET, which was a small segment of US security aid programmes for Pakistan worth some $2 billion.

A State Department spokeswoman told Dawn last month that Trump’s 2018 decision to suspend security assistance authorised “narrow exceptions for programmes that support vital US national security interests”. The decision to restore Pakistani participation in IMET was “one such exception”, she said.

The programme “provides an opportunity to increase bilateral cooperation between our countries on shared priorities”, she added. “We want to continue to build on this foundation through concrete actions that advance regional security and stability.”

IMET enables foreign military officers to join US military education institutions, such as the US Army War College and the National Defence University, Washington.

Pakistan’s suspension in August 2018 prompted the cancellation of 66 slots set aside for the country.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2020