Britain Says Pakistan Aid Rises Despite Crunch, Reuters UK, 21 January 2010
EXCERPT: "Britain said on Thursday it was bolstering its support for Pakistan's counter-terrorism efforts after a minister caused a storm by saying the slumping pound had led to cuts in crucial overseas programmes. Foreign Office minister Glenys Kinnock told the House of Lords that the Foreign Office budget for counter-terrorism in Pakistan was expected to rise to 9.5 million pounds in the 2010-11 financial year, from 8.2 million in the current financial year. 'Although this is a smaller rise than we would have hoped, we are still spending more on Pakistan counter-terrorism than we have ever done,' she said. On Wednesday, Kinnock had sparked controversy when she said her department faced a 110-million-pound shortfall in its 2009-10 budget because of a sharp fall in the pound's value against major currencies during a deep recession. 'Counter-narcotics programmes in Afghanistan, capacity building to help conflict prevention in Africa, and counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation in Pakistan have all been cut,' she told the House of Lords. The Foreign Office budget is set in pounds and it has to manage its own currency risk, but the sharp weakening of sterling has left it struggling to make ends meet."
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Related articles:
Govt under pressure on Pakistan terror cuts, Sky News, 21 January 2010
Britain increasing anti-terror spending: Brown, DAWN, 21 January 2010
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