US-AID to Pakistan

ppgj

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One thing you are not realizing is that, by including such stipulations in Kerry-Lugar bill US is actually trying to implicate that PA was involved in supporting terrorism against its neighbors,
they have enough intel about all these things for a long time.

that PA was undermining democratic institutions in Pakistan and that PA is not sincere in fighting Taliban at all.
same as above.

These stipulation are very shameful for Pakistan to accept openly which will be a part of the US law. Its implication are far reaching in future especially for India to brow-beat Pakistan at International forums in case of future conflicts/attacks involving terrorists from across the border.
it is a bilateral agreement bill between pakistan and USA. how can india make it an issue in intl forums? even that can happen only if US passes intel on to india in the respective cases which is again unlikely. lastly remember USA was also a partner when this whole mess got created in 70's. they dont want their own skeletons to tumble out.
 

ppgj

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This may not be implemented in true spirit of the law but this AID will be overseen by US congress committee and therefore amenable to public and media pressure.
i appreciate your optimism. for the USA its national interest is more important than india's. since PA, GOP are cooperating with them that is enough for them. whether it is congress, US media or the govt, US national interest is paramount.
 

Daredevil

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it is a bilateral agreement bill between pakistan and USA. how can india make it an issue in intl forums? even that can happen only if US passes intel on to india in the respective cases which is again unlikely. lastly remember USA was also a partner when this whole mess got created in 70's. they dont want their own skeletons to tumble out.
Very simple. India can make allegations that US AID is being used for attacks against India (in the event of future attacks). We have already made such allegations on Pakistan using AI from US for buying weapons to be used against India and Musharaff has accepted this fact recently. The more India exposes such a nexus in International media, the more pressure it creates on the congress to stop the future AID. This law is much better than blank cheque that US was giving to Pakistan before.
 

ejazr

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US tilt shifts from Army to people in Pakistan

The passage of the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill is a triumph for President Asif Ali Zardari. Without his unflinching support to the struggle against militancy this US law may well have been scuttled by interests inimical to Pakistan. And the half-century-old tilt of the US in favour of the Pakistan Army at the cost of the people of Pakistan may have continued by default.

Making a contribution of $1.5 billion per annum for a period of five years, for improving the institutions of education, health, family planning and for enhancing the capacity to produce better agriculture, for expanding and improving the infrastructures of our State, while maintaining parity with an equivalent $1.5 billion for our Defence Establishment, speaks well of the generosity of the American tax payer, in a time of economic recession.

Meanwhile, here in our country the media blitz that has gone on and on to vilify public representatives while condoning a “Salariat” that excelled in keeping its liabilities in Pakistan while shifting its stolen assets abroad, did not go unnoticed.

Disappointed with our Establishment’s lack of capacity for due diligence in rendering account on resources donated previously for the welfare of the Pakistani people, the US lawmakers have built rigorous accounting mechanisms into their law.

Media apologists for our Establishment have been indulging in a veritable orgy of hand wringing diatribes on how oversight of the donor resources amounts to “interference” in our internal affairs. If interference reduces theft, then I, for one, am in favour of interference!

Cartoonists have had a field day with President Zardari and a beggar’s bowl. My memory indicates that from the days of President Ayub Khan onwards, all Pakistani presidents and prime ministers, without exception, have crossed the Atlantic with a beggar’s bowl, and if previous US lawmakers had had the wit to put in oversight clauses in their law, we may have by now been rid of this infamous bowl!

An entire generation of diplomats and representatives both on the Pakistani as well as the American side struggled with defence contractors lobbyists and other shadowy organizations to advocate precisely that which has been brought to fruition, parity between security concerns and the demands of the Pakistani people for a better life.

President Obama and his team of advisers, Vice President Biden and his staff, Sen. Kerry and his staff are all owed a major vote of thanks by us as is President Zardari, along with his staff, for not reacting to the ongoing vilification of their effort to secure support from the US for the people of Pakistan without compromising any security interests or concerns of our defence establishment.

The rider in the law of US assistance to Pakistan, linking continuance of this assistance to maintenance of our constitutional, democratic norms is reflective of a paradigm shift in US policy in favour of a democratic dispensation. Why should any Pakistani hesitate to appreciate such a notion?

We also need to take a dispassionate view of our tendency to mix apples with oranges. US aid needs not be confused with our effort to raise additional resources from a Consortium of Donors.

The “Friends of Democratic Pakistan” concept floated by President Zardari at last year’s session of the UNGA, has yielded a “Friends of Democratic Pakistan Trust” put in place with able assistance from President Obama and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, where the pledges forthcoming seem to indicate that this Trust Fund could reach $30 billion.

Logical that the Fund be at the disposal of the World Bank to disburse project assistance for Thar coal, Bhasha dam, other small dams, in sum, all projects that could wipe out the current energy deficit and look after future energy needs of our nation.

Not so long ago World Bank appointees were treated as veritable gods by our Establishment, why are they suddenly out of style with the mouthpieces and spin doctors of our civil and military bureaucracies? Is it because there is an apprehension that politicians will also be leaving their liabilities in Pakistan while converting their assets abroad? If the Supreme Court of Pakistan takes cognizance of Shaukat Aziz and the ministers in his cabinet who were doing just that, then surely Prime Minister Gilani and his Cabinet would be effectively deterred by our vibrant media and increasingly aware civil society.

Transparency and accountability are the norm of a democratic order. It is for the people of Pakistan to ensure that we vote in honest and capable people and it is for the Election Commission to ensure that they protect their polling officers from gangsters and covert agents perfected in the art of rigging elections.

International donors require, at a minimum, an equitable partnership mounted by our govts and us to ensure that donor monies are neither wasted nor stolen.

If President Zardari raises the bar for the performance of his team, the people of Pakistan will reward him and his party for leading them out of bankruptcy to the hope of solvency and will in all likelihood vote his party back into power for a second term.

His children will then doubtless be as proud of their father’s legacy as they are of their mother’s.

Let us in a moment of multi-partisanship also acknowledge the contribution of Asfandyar Wali Khan who has, along with his party, remained steadfast in the face of extreme physical danger and played a consequential role in convincing international donors that we have the grit and resolve to fight out militants and prevent the Talibanization of Quaid-i-Azam’s, Abdul Wali Khan’s and Shaheed ZA Bhutto’s Pakistan.
 

ejazr

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^^^The KL Bill is only non-military aid. The military aid is seprate to this and has a different set of conditions attached. Although the checks on KL-bill are good, it doesnt apply to the military aid.

What India must be doing is asking US to make sure counter-terrorism related military aid is provided to Pakistan instead of India-specific military aid.
 

nitesh

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this is really hilarious: :rofl: :rofl:

DAWN.COM | Pakistan | Nation has not fully rejected Kerry-Lugar bill: Assef

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Chairman Planning Commission Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali has said that the nation has not fully rejected the Kerry-Lugar bill.

Talking to Radio Pakistan, he said that the people of Pakistan have reservations over some clauses of the Kerry-Lugar bill, and the government will follow recommendations of the parliament and media ??in this regard. :rofl:
 

Daredevil

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FM Qureshi meets Holbrooke, gives Pakistan’s perspective on Kerry-Lugar Bill

WASHINGTON, Oct 13 (APP): Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi Tuesday met with U.S. Special Representative Richard Holbrooke and discussed Pakistan’s concerns over certain provisions of Kerry-Lugar economic assistance bill.

The top Pakistani diplomat, who is due to meet U.S. National Security Adviser James Jones, Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he is in Washington with a clear mandate to convey Pakistan’s perspective to the U.S. officials.

“I am meeting all of them to give perspective of Pakistan and its parliament,” Qureshi said in his brief remarks after holding “frank and open” discussions with Holbrooke, who is Obama Administration’s special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“I am here with a clear mandate--- I am meeting all of them (the U.S. officials) to give perspective of Pakistan and its parliament--- I shall explain to them and one has to be optimistic,” he stated.

The foreign minister’s visit takes place amidst parliamentary debate in Pakistan on some provisions of the Kerry-Lugar Bill, which are seen as impacting on the country’s sovereignty and national security.

The legislation was recently passed by the U.S. Congress to provide $ 7.5 billion to Pakistan in socio-economic assistance over five years, from 2010 to 2014 but some of its provisions have come under criticism in the country as they are seen as interference in the country’s national affairs. The U.S. administration officials and lawmakers say they want to assist socio-economic development of Pakistani people and do not intend to micromanage Pakistan.
 

RPK

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http://www.ptinews.com/news/330131_Obama-to-sign-Kerry-Lugar-bill-today--sans-any-change

Obama to sign Kerry-Lugar bill today, sans any change

Washington, Oct 14 (PTI) US President Barack Obama is today expected to sign into law the Kerry-Lugar bill for USD 7.5 billion aid to Pakistan after two powerful Congressional committees issue an "explanatory statement" addressing concerns of its opponents, mainly the Pakistan Army.

However, there would be no change in the text of the bill, which its key architects and the Obama administration insisted has nothing to impinge on Pakistan's sovereignty.

Visiting Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi met a number of key Congressional leaders and officials here to convey to them concerns of the powerful Army and opposition parties in his country over the bill.

Congressman Howard Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters that the House and Senate foreign affairs committees would issue a Joint Explanatory Statement detailing the intents and contents of the bill.
 

ejazr

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DAWN.COM | World | US "note" dilutes some conditions in Kerry-Lugar bill

WASHINGTON: The requirement for an effective civilian control over promotions and strategic planning in the Pakistani military is not mentioned in a new joint explanatory statement of the US Congress issued on Wednesday.

‘There is no intent to, and nothing in this act in any way suggests that there should be, any US role in micromanaging internal Pakistani affairs, including the promotion of Pakistani military officers or the internal operations of the Pakistani military,’ said an explanatory note attached to the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009.

The explanatory note also dilutes the requirement that needed Pakistan to interrogate any Pakistani national involved in nuclear proliferation and to allow US officials access to such a person.

A new clause included in the explanatory note now ‘reflects our understanding that cooperative effort currently being undertaken by the governments of Pakistan and the United States to combat proliferation will continue.’

Section 302 of the act Congress passed late last month required the Secretary of State to submit annual reports to appropriate congressional committees to justify the continuation of security and military assistance to Pakistan. A failure to issue such a report could cause the aid to be discontinued.

There’s no such requirement for economic assistance. The secretary’s report shall include an assessment of the extent to which the Pakistan government exercises effective civilian control of the military.

This report should also include ‘a description of the extent to which civilian executive leaders and parliament exercise oversight and approval of military budgets, the chain of command, the process of promotion for senior military leaders, civilian involvement in strategic guidance and planning, and military involvement in civil administration,’ said the original document.

Pakistani diplomats, however, explained to the media on Wednesday that while the above clause could not be deleted from the bill, the explanatory statement would make it ineffective. The administration will no longer be asked to issue such a report.

Missing from the explanatory note are words like ‘civilian executive leaders and parliament’ exercising the power of ‘oversight and approval’ and the requirement that the military will not get involved in civil administration.

The explanatory note also states that even the remaining requirement can be ‘waived if the determination is made by the Secretary of State in the interest of (US) national security that this was necessary to continue’ military assistance to Pakistan.

Interestingly, the requirement for ‘effective civilian control’ over the military was also absent from the original Senate version of the Kerry-Lugar bill.

The earlier bill said that the US intended to work with the government of Pakistan to ensure that Pakistan had strong and effective law-enforcement and national defence forces, under civilian leadership, with sufficient and appropriate security equipment and training to effectively defend Pakistan against internal and external threats.

In this clause, there was no mention of civilian control over chain of command or the process of promotion in the Pakistan army or any thing else hair-raising about the armed forces.

The explanatory note was issued jointly by the US House of Representatives and the Senate, clarifying their intent behind the aid to Pakistan bill.

The statement stresses that the US neither seeks to micromanage Pakistani affairs nor impinge on its sovereignty.

Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congressman Howard Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, read out part of the statement inside Capitol Hill, standing beside Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

‘This document today is I think a historic document, a step forward in our relationship,’ Qureshi told a joint news conference with Senator Kerry and Congressman Berman.

'I am going back to Pakistan to tell my parliament and conclude the debate on the note that our relationship can move forward , we will deepen it and we will strengthen it,’ he said.

Senator Kerry and Congressman Berman reaffirmed their resolve to forge a long-term relationship with Pakistan, adding that the legislation, now being called as Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act, manifests the American commitment to economic uplift of the Pakistani people.

‘There is nothing in this bill that impinges on Pakistani sovereignty, period,’ said Senator Kerry.

The joint statement says that the reports envisioned in Section 302 are not binding on Pakistan, and require only the provision of information by the executive branch to the US Congress, in furtherance of the proposed legislation’s stated purpose of strengthening civilian institutions and the democratically-elected government of Pakistan.

The final text of the legislation reflects an agreement reached by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.

‘The purpose of this explanatory statement is to facilitate accurate interpretation of the text and to ensure faithful implementation of its provisions in accordance with the intentions of the legislation,’ said Senator Kerry.

The core intent of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act is to demonstrate the American people’s long-term commitment to the people of Pakistan, he added.

Senator Kerry and Congressman Berman said that the United States valued its friendship with the Pakistani people and honoured the great sacrifices made by Pakistani security forces in the fight against extremism, and the legislation reflected the goals shared by the two governments.

The joint statement emphasised that the legislation ‘does not seek in any way to compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty, impinge on Pakistan’s national security interests, or micromanage any aspect of Pakistani military or civilian operations’.

There are no conditions on Pakistan attached to the authorisation of $7.5 billion in non-military aid.
The only requirements on this funding are financial accountability measures that Congress is imposing on the US executive branch, to ensure that this assistance supports programmes that most benefit the Pakistani people.

President Barack Obama has till midnight Friday to sign the Kerry-Lugar bill and he will sign it before that, according to White House spokesman Robert Gibbs.
 

1.44

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US tells Pak not to use aid for confrontation against India

US tells Pak not to use aid for confrontation against India

WASHINGTON: Implicitly heeding New Delhi’s grievance for the first time about its Paksitan policy, the United States has set exacting conditions on military aid that country to ensure the assitance is focused on the war on terror and not diverted for a confrontation against India.

The US move came in amendments attached to the Defence Authorisation Bill of 2010, amid continuing anger and dismay in Islamabad over the so-called Kerry-Lugar Bill. That bill also conditions civilian aid to Pakistan ending its covert sponsorship of terrorism and nuclear proliferation, and reigning in its overbearing military which is seen as the root cause of the country’s instability.

On Thursday night, the US Senate voted 68-29 on measures which aim at ensuring that U.S military resources provided to Pakistan are not squandered or diverted to adversely affect the ''balance of power in the region,'' an oblique reference to New Delhi’s long standing gripe that Pakistan ends up using U.S military aid to wage war against India.

"This provision simply ensures that the American peoples' tax dollars are being used for their intended purpose," Senator Bob Corker, Republican from Tennessee and co-author of the measure along with Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey, said. "That fight (against terrorism) is important to our own national security, and we have to ensure that our support for it is not being squandered or diverted,'' Menendez added. Neither mentioned India directly.

Both Senators ignored the hysteria in Pakistan over the Kerry-Lugar bill in pushing for the measures, which was supported by a majority of their colleagues. The US House of Representatives had passed a similar measure earlier on October 8.

Lawmakers were helped in this regard by reported acknowledgement by Pakistan’s former dictator Pervez Musharraf that he had diverted US aid to Pakistan to bulk up against India. The matter was first brought to the notice of Congress and the administration by US government audits, which noted that very little of US military aid was in fact going to the purported war on terrorism.

Pakistan's subsequent whining about the conditions in the Kerry-Lugar Bill has in fact begun to now anger Congress. Earlier this week, Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf was reported to have snapped at visiting Pakistan Senator Syed Zafar Ali Shah when he complained about conditions being attached to US aid to Pakistan.

''I know why are you here... if you don’t like the bill don’t take the money,'' an angry Wolf was quoted by a Pakistan journalist as having told Shah.

Senator John Kerry, co-author of the Kerry-Lugar bill conveyed pretty much the same message more politely during his recent visit to Islamabad, saying Pakistan was not obliged to take accept the money if it did not like the conditions.

The White House too has endorsed the line, and President Obama is expected to sign this legislation too without changes, as he did with the Kerry-Lugar bill.

Broadly, the Indian argument that any US assistance – civilian or military – is fungible and provided Pakistan the resources to mobilize militarily against India unless otherwise ensured, seems to have found some traction in Washington. The Corker-Menendez amendment also demands scrutiny over Coalition Support Funds, which Pakistan says is largely reimbursement for money it first spends in providing logistical help to U.S in the region.

The proposed restrictions on Pakistan are buried in hundreds of pages of legislative fine print that constitutes the $680.2 billion defence authorisation bill. They include new requirements for registration and end-use monitoring of weapons and mandates that the US administration certifies that the aid serves America’s interests.

But inasmuch as the legislation demands scrutiny, there is also enough wiggle room for the administration to conduct policy on its terms.

For instance, in the matter of end-use restrictions, while the bill enjoins the Secretary of Defence to “establish and carry out a programme to provide for the registration and end-use monitoring of defence articles and defence services transferred to Afghanistan and Pakistan,” it also allows him to “exempt a defence article or defence service from the registration and end-use monitoring requirements if he deems it in the US interest to do so.”

US tells Pak not to use aid for confrontation against India - US - World - The Times of India
 

musalman

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pakistan is untrustworthy nation and stupid USA should stop aiding pakistan.
USA should stop aiding Pakistan i agree to that. But USA is more untrustworthy as they put us in Afganistan war and when we won them that war they left us and even put sanctions on us. They even did not pay back the money they took us for 70 F16 in 90s.
 

proud_hindustani

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USA should stop aiding Pakistan i agree to that. But USA is more untrustworthy as they put us in Afganistan war and when we won them that war they left us and even put sanctions on us. They even did not pay back the money they took us for 70 F16 in 90s.
dude. USA is ek number ka badmash in the world....jitni pareshaani hai, yeh sab uncle sam ne hi paida kari huyi hai....
 

proud_hindustani

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I hope India never falls on the trick of Uncle Sam. making an alliance with USA means loss of our great buddy Russia
 

musalman

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I hope India never falls on the trick of Uncle Sam. making an alliance with USA means loss of our great buddy Russia
Looks like u guys are falling for Uncle Sam.

And yes saab gaand US ki waja sey hai.
 

thakur_ritesh

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Looks like u guys are falling for Uncle Sam.

And yes saab gaand US ki waja sey hai.
Not entirely true mate.

What India has realized is that so as to push its interests at the world stage we can do it a lot quicker if we make use of lone super power, heck even the Chinese have done it, and still continue to do it.

India quite clearly does not want to end up being the iran’s of the world. We have a much bigger stature and if all goes well, then we will play a much bigger role, with a lot of assertiveness and influence in times to come.

There is a lot of technology to be had, a huge market for our goods to be sourced, a much bigger and influential platform to address our political concerns and in all this the lone surviving super power the us plays a significant role and gives us an opportunity to grab the same much quickly.

Mind you even with we being close to them, we have treaded a significantly independent foreign policy and no way are they allowed to interfere in our internal affairs, some benefits of having a political system where people right from left leaning thinking to center to right leaning thinking exists.

One of the very few reasons why I like the communists in our country is because no matter what, they will keep the Americans in check from interfering in our policy making be it on the domestic front or on international level.

If you have a closer look, we have done a decent job, had our due through them and in bargain they have been allowed to have a share of our economic growth pie, rest most of their activities are under check.

India’s involvement with the us will be seen more than what one has seen witnessed between the us and the prc because of a common threat perception emerging from a communist china, and till the time this threat perception remains for the us, India is bound to gain.

It’s a win-win!
 

proud_hindustani

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Not entirely true mate.

What India has realized is that so as to push its interests at the world stage we can do it a lot quicker if we make use of lone super power, heck even the Chinese have done it, and still continue to do it.

India quite clearly does not want to end up being the iran’s of the world. We have a much bigger stature and if all goes well, then we will play a much bigger role, with a lot of assertiveness and influence in times to come.

There is a lot of technology to be had, a huge market for our goods to be sourced, a much bigger and influential platform to address our political concerns and in all this the lone surviving super power the us plays a significant role and gives us an opportunity to grab the same much quickly.

Mind you even with we being close to them, we have treaded a significantly independent foreign policy and no way are they allowed to interfere in our internal affairs, some benefits of having a political system where people right from left leaning thinking to center to right leaning thinking exists.

One of the very few reasons why I like the communists in our country is because no matter what, they will keep the Americans in check from interfering in our policy making be it on the domestic front or on international level.

If you have a closer look, we have done a decent job, had our due through them and in bargain they have been allowed to have a share of our economic growth pie, rest most of their activities are under check.

India’s involvement with the us will be seen more than what one has seen witnessed between the us and the prc because of a common threat perception emerging from a communist china, and till the time this threat perception remains for the us, India is bound to gain.

It’s a win-win!
Dude if India becomes an ally of USA and a biggest customer of US military weapons, it will surely affect our Indo-Russian relationship. Russia won't like it. If India losses its interest in Russia and seeks more for US weapons, Russia would break the military relation with India and seek for a new customer. Russia needs $$$$ so it would probably seek an opportunity to be friend with Pakistan. Russia knows very well Pakistan is hungry for advanced technology and would go to any extend to acquire it.

Russia + China + Pakistan = major concern for India. These three nations can jointly develop the next generation weapons which would become a major threat to India.

USA is declining slowly. Now this time is of India and China that are on the way to become Superpower with vast economic engines.

Better for India to say NO, Thanks to Uncle Sam.
 

proud_hindustani

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Looks like u guys are falling for Uncle Sam.

And yes saab gaand US ki waja sey hai.
We have not completely fallen for Uncle Sam. :)>

We better never become a big customer of US military weapons.

India is also a good friend of Israel and their expenditures for Israeli weapons surpassed the expenditures of Russia weapons but Russia had no objections. He will surely raise voice if India's expenditure of US weapons surpasses the expenditure of Russian toys :)>
 

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