The bilateral relations between the United States and Pakistan throughout history have been shaped by shifting geopolitical interests, regional security dynamics, and mutual strategic needs, with US financial assistance playing a significant role in Pakistan’s social and economic development. Depending on military, civilian, and humanitarian agencies, the United States has offered support in crucial areas of health, education, general development, and building Pakistan’s capacity to respond to terrorism following its adoption of the U.S.-led War on Terror. With Donald J. Trump’s election as president in 2016, long-term partnerships in US foreign aid were neglected under his “America First” agenda, and the priority shifted to aid that benefited the US, resulting in significant decreases in grants for many countries, including Pakistan.
In 2018, the Trump administration stopped providing over $290 million in military assistance to Pakistan, claiming failure to tackle terrorism, while major cuts were also applied to civilian aid programs, which supported projects in healthcare, education, the economy, and welfare systems. Moreover, in 2025, major financial cuts of around $845 million were halted for projects in Pakistan. The article aims to investigate beyond state-based security frameworks. It focuses on the financial cuts affecting human security in Pakistan by examining the UNDP’s model, which aims to protect people from risks such as illness, poverty, job loss, and political pressure.
Overview of US Financial Aid to Pakistan
Since Pakistan gained its independence, the United States has maintained its relationship with Pakistan primarily on aid matters, largely due to geopolitical and strategic considerations. The Cold War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and War on Terror issues in the region led to US financial aid to Pakistan increasing or decreasing over the years. From the American viewpoint, Pakistan became a significant check against the Soviets moving into South Asia during that era. Within CENTO and SEATO, the United States supported Pakistan by giving it funds for its defense and economy. The US support to Pakistan included billions of dollars from 1954 to 1965, with the highest level of aid reaching $2.3 billion in 1962. However, it declined after the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pakistan conflicts. During these years, the money provided to Pakistan allowed its military to advance and its economy to rise.
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Additionally, after the invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, the ties between Washington and Islamabad became much stronger. America gave Pakistan $32.5 billion to support military and government efforts against the Soviet soldiers in Afghanistan. After the September 11 attacks, everything changed for the economy. Because America saw Pakistan as an important partner in fighting terrorism, it began investing more money in the country. The US sent economic and military aid to Pakistan, making the country deal with extremists along the Afghan border. As allegations spread that terrorists might be finding a safe place in Pakistan, American confidence in the country began dropping. Hence, Islamabad lost $300 million in aid, which led to diplomatic tension over security matters. From 2002 to 2016, the United States provided Pakistan with more than $33 billion in the form of military payments, security help and support distributed by USAID. The government of the United States, assisted by USAID, performed great work in relief and restoration projects after the devastating earthquake in Pakistan.
Due to the $300 million contribution from the US, 60 schools were built in Bagh and Mansehra, and more than 30,000 students started their education in these areas; a new tehsil-level hospital was also established at Dhirkot, Bagh, Azad Kashmir. The Sindh government and USAID signed a partnership program in 2011 aimed at enhancing sanitation services, which has three components: improved drinking water supply, solid waste management, and wastewater disposal. According to Latif ur Rehman, the Municipal Services Program in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has enabled 180 wells for drinking water and 120 kilometers of sewage systems to operate in DI Khan, Peshawar, and Mingora. The program cost $43 million to run, which helped more than 2 million residents.
Trump Administration’s Financial Cuts
When Donald J. Trump became president in January 2017, the way America engaged with the world was altered by his emphasis on “America first,” which prioritized American interests over international assistance. Trump spoke harshly about Pakistan, whose help in fighting terrorism had often been criticized by previous American leaders, as part of his tough rhetoric. The Trump administration announced in January 2018 that it was suspending almost $300 million in military reimbursements to Pakistan through the CSF because Pakistan had not acted strongly enough against the terrorists existing in the country. The financial cuts were not only confined to the military but also had an impact on civilian financial support, primarily affecting programs supervised by USAID that had previously financed health, education, and economic projects.
Again, in 2025, after coming into power, the Trump Administration halted the aid worth $845 million that had a huge impact on projects started with the help of the US in Pakistan.
Impact on Human Security in Pakistan
The closure of aid floodgates to Pakistan has a significant impact on various sectors associated with human security. These sectors include agriculture, health, education, jobs and other key projects.
Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation
The Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) was one of the two funds involved at the start, representing with particular irony the US appreciation for Pakistani culture. The grant has supported the preservation of historic sites, efforts to keep Indigenous languages alive, and the defense of traditional craftworks since 2001, with contributions to over 1,000 projects in 133 countries. The US Embassy and Consulates in Pakistan state that more than $8 million is budgeted for various projects in the country. As this aid is suspended in uncertainty, many conservation efforts that were of crucial importance now appear to have been abandoned.
Climate, Food, and Water Security
The agriculture sector in Pakistan depends heavily on funding coming from outside for climate adaptation and development, which is now under great pressure. Projects such as Water Management for Enhanced Productivity, Flood-Affected Districts of Pakistan, and Climate-Smart Agriculture and Recharge Pakistan are currently on hold. It has been estimated that by 2050, climate change may result in Pakistan harvesting 50% less wheat due to declining productivity exacerbated by aid cuts.
Education Programs
As a result of aid halts, for now, education programs, especially those promoting higher education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh, as well as those supporting girls’ education, have been halted. Improving Girls’ Education Activity was expected to be completed by 2025. It has also been suspended along with the Education Resilience Activity and the Higher Education System Strengthening Activity. Suspending education in Pakistan could exacerbate existing challenges. The net literacy rate for girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is between 15.37 percent and 35 percent, far lower than what boys achieve, which is 71 percent. In Sindh, a similar number of girls and boys aged 5-9 remain unenrolled in school, which is an issue the area needs to address.
Health Security
As a result of aid cuts imposed by the US, health security was disrupted as well in Pakistan. Out of the eight countries making up two-thirds of annual new tuberculosis cases everywhere, Pakistan holds the highest position with over 510,000 cases each year – that’s around 5.7 percent of the entire world. The 2019 report released by the National TB Control Program mentions that in the country, drug-resistant tuberculosis is a concern since 16% of patients who were treated for tuberculosis before and 4.2% of new cases now have drug-resistant tuberculosis. Around 60 health facilities are likely to be impacted due to the restraint in aid. Stopping these vital aid programs could hinder the progress of health and education for the country’s most vulnerable communities more than it does for others.
Conclusion
As a result of ending humanitarian, civilian and military support, sudden financial cuts from the Trump administration stopped the development of anti-terrorism work, the economy, education and health systems in Pakistan. The loss of key services and opportunities for marginalized groups caused development work to falter, made things worse for vulnerable extremist groups and increased the gaps between rich and poor groups. Because the government used aid for short-term purposes rather than strengthening Pakistan, it made the region around Pakistan less secure, allowing China to quickly take advantage and extend its influence. In a nutshell, Pakistan’s reliance on US aid has an impact on human security in Pakistan. Throughout history, it can be seen that aid channels have been opened due to US interests. Once the interests are achieved, the aid floodgates are closed, having significant repercussions for Pakistan, which has been dependent on US aid.
*The infographic is from 2018, and although the information is dated, it is used for a visual explanation of the massive amounts of American aid that Pakistan received.*
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
He is a student pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Strategic Studies at the National Defence University in Islamabad. My areas of research interest include security studies and strategic stability in South Asia.
