U.S. halts aid to Pakistani army units over abuses

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (R) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi hold a news conference after the U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue Plenary Session at the State Department in Washington October 22, 2010.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has cut off aid to Pakistani army units believed to have killed unarmed prisoners, an extraordinary censure of a key U.S. ally in the battle against the Taliban, U.S. officials said on Friday.

The officials said the cut-off was required under U.S. law, which forbids funding of foreign military units that are singled out for gross human rights violations. They would not say how many units were affected.

"It's a relatively small number. That's all I can say," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters, adding he was constrained because the issue dealt with legal and intelligence matters.

The disclosure came the same day the United States announced $2 billion in military aid for Pakistan. Top Pakistani officials, including from the military, were also in Washington for bilateral talks.

Human Rights Watch, which briefed U.S. and congressional officials earlier this year about evidence of more than 200 summary executions of suspected Taliban sympathizers, praised the U.S. action.

"What they showed today is that the United States can simultaneously step up support for Pakistan while restricting assistance to those (abusive) elements of the Pakistani military," said Tom Malinowski, Human Rights Watch's Washington director.

U.S. officials acknowledged it can be difficult to prevent aid from trickling down to foreign military units singled out for abuse, but point to examples where the law has been successfully enforced in Colombia, Indonesia and elsewhere.

"Because we have a system of vetting units, we can have confidence that for those units that we are supporting, we have vetted them properly," Crowley said.

VIDEO OF KILLINGS

The United States is seeking more aggressive action by Pakistan in the fight against al Qaeda and other Islamist extremist groups along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

U.S. officials have pressed Pakistan for tougher steps against safe havens in North Waziristan, saying in a recent report to Congress that Pakistani forces had avoided direct contact with al Qaeda and related militants.

At the same time, U.S. officials have repeatedly raised questions with Islamabad about rights abuses and the way it conducts its fight against militants.

Last month, the United States asked Pakistan for information about an Internet video purporting to show Pakistani troops, lined up in a firing squad, shooting bound and blindfolded young men in traditional clothing.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, speaking in Washington, said that issue was being dealt with.

"Investigation has been ordered by a very senior officer of the Pakistan army and I can assure you that there will be zero tolerance against human rights violations," Qureshi told reporters. "If there is action required, the government of Pakistan will take action.

Senator Patrick Leahy, who wrote the law that triggered the cut-off of U.S. assistance, said reports of extrajudicial killings by the Pakistani government would be a factor when Congress reviews future U.S. aid requests.

He also noted that Pakistani officials had yet to acknowledge extra-judicial killings or punish those responsible.

"If there is going to be progress against al Qaeda, we need the support of the Pakistani army," said Leahy, who did not comment on the U.S. cut-off in aid to certain Pakistani units.

"But there is a lot of concern with extrajudicial killings ... this will be a factor when we consider a request for more aid, because respect for our law and the laws of war is fundamental."

(Additional reporting by Andrew Quinn; Editing by Will Dunham and Peter Cooney)