The U.S. Agency for International Development has deferred funding for a $250 million project with Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission, while the World Bank has threatened to cancel its $300 million loan to the commission, a Pakistani newspaper says.
USAID officials were reportedly concerned over the transfer of the commission’s key functions to different federal and provincial institutions, sources told The Nation. The U.S. aid agency decided to freeze its first installment and the rest of its funding for the project “Financial Assistant and Development Program” until the commission’s role is clarified, sources added.
The World Bank has also allegedly threatened to scrap a three-year, $300 million loan to the commission following the transfer of functions.
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