That programme has now virtually collapsed as US-Pakistani relations fall to their lowest point in a decade. The 60,000-strong FC, which is deployed along the length of the 1,600-mile border with Afghanistan, has long been in the frontline of Pakistani efforts to combat Taliban militancy and flush al-Qaida from its tribal havens.īut its troops are considered under-trained and ill-equipped, and Pakistan's western allies have in recent years prioritised a multimillion pound effort to bolster their skills and equipment. "The training teams will continue their own training and will be ready to redeploy at the first possible opportunity," she told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism. In an email statement, a spokeswoman said the trainers had been withdrawn "on a temporary basis" at the request of the Pakistani government in response to "security concerns". The MoD hopes to redeploy the team once the tensions abate. The training scheme began last August and was scheduled to run until at least summer 2013. The British team, a mix of seasoned officers and NCOs, had been stationed at a British-funded FC base near the capital of Balochistan, Quetta. Since Bin Laden's death, Pakistan has sent home at least 120 US military trainers, most of whom were engaged in training the FC. Their removal is seen as an indirect casualty of worsening relations between Pakistan and the US over the 2 May Navy Seal raid in Abbottabad, which was conducted without Pakistani consent.Īlthough British relations with Pakistan are warmer, the embattled army, stung by a barrage of public criticism, is keen to demonstrate its independence from all western allies.
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