US panel denies aid to Afghanistan
A House of Representatives foreign aid panel has voted to cut off almost four billion US dollars (£2.67 billion) in aid to the government of Afghanistan pending an investigation into charges that Afghan officials are blocking corruption probes and huge amounts of foreign aid is being stolen.
The bipartisan move comes after The Washington Post alleged that top officials in president Hamid Karzai's government were blocking corruption investigations of political allies and that Afghan powerbrokers are moving millions of dollars out of the country.
Politicians are instead demanding that the US Government Accountability Office audit billions of dollars of past aid.
The moves came as the appropriations panel approved a 53 billion dollar (£35.43 billion) measure funding foreign aid for the coming budget year.