US Pak assistance bill may include one-time $5bn

[Neo]

US Pak assistance bill may include one-time $5bn ​

Tuesday, March 03, 2009

WASHINGTON: US lawmakers will soon introduce a measure on expanding socio-economic assistance for Pakistan to $1.5 billion annually that is likely to include an additional one-time $5 billion in support of the democratic government’s efforts to pull the key South Asian country out of its economic troubles.

According to a prominent American newspaper on Monday the economic support initiative is part of the policy shift Washington is in the process of making in its relationship with the anti-terrorism ally in the region, considered critical to the US security interests.

The assistance will be geared towards enabling the elected government to combat violent extremism more comprehensively, particularly in its tribal border areas along Afghanistan, where thousands of US troops are batting a spreading Taliban insurgency.

“Two influential senators are expected to file legislation in the coming days that would triple non-military US aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year and include $5 billion to stave off an imminent economic crisis,” The Christian Science Monitor reported.

The report came days after the Obama Administration held review consultations with Pakistani and Afghan officials on evolving future the US policy toward the militancy-hit border region.

Citing some of the pressing challenges facing the nuclear-armed country including its economic woes, the report said “the shift is part of an increasing awareness of Pakistan’s precarious position - and that more than military operations will be needed to build a stable state capable of beating back extremism in the long term.” Senator John Kerry, chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee and Ranking Republican member Senator Richard Lugar are lead supporters of the expected new legislation on Pakistan, to be known as Kerry-Lugar Act.

Kerry made a pitch for the much-needed additional $ 5 billion aid for Pakistan in the light of a new Atlantic Council report on US relations with Pakistan last week, cautioning that the time was running out.

The legislative measure mirrors a plan that Vice President Joseph Biden proposed last year when he was still a senator. Meanwhile, the Pakistani diplomats, led by Ambassador Husain Haqqani, have been meeting with leaders on the Capital Hill to underscore the importance of economic support for Pakistan.

Experts say the shift is admission that the former Bush administration’s over reliance on security aspects of the anti-terror fight did not work. Last week, the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, also highlighted the importance of a holistic approach to addressing the problem of extremism in the long-term perspective.

The Monitor also reported that the Pentagon is also on board with regard to latest efforts to aid the democratically elected Pakistani government as part of a comprehensive plan to stabilize the restive Pak-Afghan border region.

In this respect, the report refers to Pentagon officials who last week met with Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pentagon officials support, a more comprehensive relationship, with Pakistan, that also includes smarter and more effective military assistance, the report added.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also sounded a similar note when she met with top Pakistani and Afghan diplomats last week. Defense Secretary Robert Gates underlined the need for wide-ranging Pakistan support in an interview Sunday. “I will just say that I think that the key here is our being able to cooperate with and enable the Pakistanis to be able to deal with this problem on their own sovereign territory.”

I believe, based on my talks with the Pakistanis here in Washington this week, this past week, that, they have — they clearly now understand that what’s going on up there in that border area is as big a risk to the stability of Pakistan as it is a problem for us in Afghanistan.”

 

[Neo]

US to move rapidly to stabilise Pakistani economy​

By Anwar Iqbal
Monday, 02 Mar, 2009

​

US Senator John Kerry, designated head of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, talks with Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. -Reuters File Photo

WASHINGTON: Providing economic assistance to Pakistan is high on the priority list of the US administration and lawmakers are also considering a proposal to give a one-time assistance of $5 billion to help stabilise the Pakistani economy, diplomatic sources told Dawn.

The additional aid – according to these sources – will be attached to a package proposing an annual assistance of $1.5 billion for Pakistan over the next five years. The package can be extended for five more years with congressional approval.

The sources said that the Pakistan aid package can be introduced in Congress later this month.

Another bill to set up reconstruction opportunity zones along the Pak-Afghan border my also be introduced sometime this month.

Senator John Kerry, who co-sponsored the aid package, released a report last week proposing an immediate injection of about $5 billion into the Pakistani economy to prevent an imminent meltdown.

The report warned that ‘the Pakistan government has between 6 -12 months to put in place and implement security and economic policies or face the very real prospect of considerable domestic and political turbulence.’

Apparently, the Obama administration agrees with this assessment and wants to move rapidly to protect the Pakistani economy from a possible collapse. It is also working with the Pakistani government to bring political stability to the country.

The proposed $5 billion, however, will not go directly into the government of Pakistan funds. The money will be spent on projects supervised by the US Agency for International Development.

The supervision will ensure that the money is spent for the purpose it is given and will reduce the chances of corruption and misappropriation. But this will also increase the overhead expenses to 25 to 30 per cent, running into hundreds of millions.

The USAID is required to hire US contractors who then can hire Pakistani sub-contractors to work on the proposed projects.

The entire aid package, which may go up to $15 billion if extended for 10 years, will focus on the economy and social sectors.

The ROZ bill is likely to be adopted before the aid package. Once the bill is adopted, the US administration will work with the Pakistani and Afghan governments for designating the zones.

The government of Pakistan will then be required to announce an incentives package for the tribal areas.

The ROZs can be established in Fata and up to 100 miles into the Balochistan border area. ROZs can also be set up in the areas hit by the last earthquake,

Both the aid package and the ROZ bills were originally presented in the previous Congress, which completed its tenure before passing them. The new Congress had planned an early hearing on the two bills but both got delayed because of Congress’s heavy domestic agenda.

Although the new Congress has already approved the US economic stimulus plan, it is still working on the financial stability plan and the omnibus budget tax for 2009. Once the two plans are adopted, Congress is likely to take up the Pakistan aid package and the ROZ bills later this month.

 

[Awesome]

I have a feeling the US will ask to put boots on the ground in exchange.

 

[Bull]

I have a feeling the US will ask to put boots on the ground in exchange.

Well they would ask under the table, not over it.