Pakistan was misusing war funds

The United States Embassy in Islamabad was extremely concerned about the misappropriation of money given to Pakistan as reimbursement of costs of fighting terrorist outfits such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

A number of cables sent between 2007 and 2009 to Washington by US Ambassador Anne W Patterson called for a thoroughgoing review of the Coalition Support Fund (CSF), set up by the US after the 9/11 attack to reimburse its key allies the costs of providing assistance in the 'global war on terror.

The cables suggested that money given for providing logistical, military and other support to US military operations were “diverted” and that reimbursement claims made by Pakistan's military were “seriously inflated.”

US aid has also led to quarrels between Pakistan's civilian government and its armed forces over how US military funds were spent, according to WikiLeaks, highlighting the turf battles and lack of transparency over billions of dollars.

US diplomatic cables in 2009, published by Dawn newspaper, showed then Finance Minister Shaukat Tarin asked the US embassy to keep him informed of American aid given directly to the Pakistani military, saying the "Army Chief of Staff General Kayani does not pass on this information."

At the same time, some Pakistan government officials feared money from a special reimbursement fund was being "siphoned off into private coffers." Washington, too, was concerned military funds were being diverted by the civilian government for social programs, cables said.

"The temptation for the new coalition government to tap CSF (coalition support fund) for non-military purposes will be high," one US diplomatic cable from 2008 said.

The Coalition Support Fund was set up by US Congress after the September 11, 2001, attacks to reimburse allies for costs in supporting the US-led war on militancy. Pakistan has received $8.8 billion from this fund since the attacks.

Many critics wonder if these funds and others are misspent to beef up Pakistan's military capabilities against India, or possibly bolstering its nuclear weapons program.

Pakistan has received $20.7 billion worth of US assistance over the past decade, about two-thirds of it military aid.