US cancels USD160 million aid to Afghanistan due to corruption: Pompeo

The United States has canceled the aid worth around USD 160 million to Afghanistan due to "corruption and financial mismanagement" by the Afghan government, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement released on Thursday.

The US government will be returning the fund of USD 100 million to the US Treasury that was intended for a large energy infrastructure project. The project consisted of five substations and other transmission infrastructure between Ghazni and Kandahar and Kajaki and Kandahar.

According to the statement, the US is still fulfilling the commitment to complete the project but given the Afghan government's inability to transparently manage the US government's resources it will be using a US government "off-budget" mechanism.

The United States will also be withholding USD 60 million to the National Procurement Authority (NPA) due to the "government's failure to meet benchmarks for transparency and accountability"

The US will also stop funding the Afghan government's Monitoring and Evaluation Committee (MEC) saying that it is "incapable of being a partner" in an effort to "building a better future" for Afghanistan.