Indian-American Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has said Pakistan is home to at least a dozen terrorist organizations and should not receive any aid from the US, stepping up her attack on America’s adversaries.
The 51-year-old two-term governor of South Carolina and former US ambassador to the United Nations officially launched her 2024 presidential bid last month. “Pakistan is home to at least a dozen terrorist organizations. #CutEveryCent,” Haley tweeted Wednesday.
In recent days, Haley has spoken about US foreign policy, arguing that the US should not provide any financial aid to countries that are friends and allies of China and Russia.
On Sunday, Haley wrote in an op-ed in the New York Post that if voted into power, she would cut off foreign aid to countries like China and Pakistan that hate America. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, she reiterated her commitment to limit US foreign aid to countries that are friends and followers of Russia and China, two of the US’s adversaries.
Haley, who announced her candidacy on Feb. 14, is set to headline the Conservative Political Action Conference alongside her former boss and former President Donald Trump. According to the schedule, he will speak on Friday morning and another presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, is scheduled to speak on Friday afternoon.
According to Haley, the Biden administration is restoring military aid to Pakistan, even though it is home to at least a dozen terrorist organizations and its government is deeply sympathetic to China.
She said that as the US ambassador to the UN, she strongly supports then-President Donald Trump’s decision to cut nearly $2 billion in military aid to Pakistan because the country supports terrorists who kill US soldiers. “This was a great victory for our troops, our taxpayers and our vital interests, but it did not go far enough. We were still giving them too much other help. As president, I will block every crown,” she added.
Born Nimrata Nikki Randhawa to Punjabi Sikh immigrant parents, Haley is the third Indian-American woman to run for the US presidency in three consecutive election cycles. Bobby Jindal ran in 2016 and Vice President Kamala Harris in 2020.
Days after Haley announced her bid for the White House, Indian-American tech entrepreneur Ramaswamy, another Republican, also launched his 2024 presidential bid. Before entering the presidential race, Haley must win the GOP presidential primary, which begins next January year. The next US presidential election is scheduled for November 5, 2024.
