U.S. Seeks to Calm Pakistani Fears Before Obama Signs Aid Bill
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan
Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) – Criticism in Pakistan over the terms of a $7.5 billion U.S. assistance offer has American lawmakers and the administration seeking to mollify the concerns as President Barack Obama readies to sign the bill.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman are drafting an “explanatory statement” to accompany the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act that passed Congress last month and that Obama is set to sign.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is in Washington to convey concerns some have raised in his country that the U.S. would impose restrictions on Pakistan’s sovereignty as a condition of the economic assistance. The measure’s $7.5 billion would be provided to Pakistan over five years to build roads, schools, power facilities and other projects serving civilians.
The debate in Pakistan has exposed anti-American sentiment and distrust over U.S. intentions in the country. It also has underscored the uneasy relationship between the elected government and the Pakistani military that has run the country for half of its six-decade history.
“There are no conditions on Pakistan attached to the $7.5 billion in nonmilitary aid,” Kerry said yesterday after meeting with Qureshi on Capitol Hill. “There is nothing in the bill that impinges on Pakistani sovereignty.”
Domestic Furor
Qureshi, who was in Washington last week to meet with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, was dispatched again this week in response to the domestic furor over the aid package. Language in the bill referring to U.S. support for civilian control of Pakistan’s military and the military’s cooperation in combating terrorism irked Pakistan’s army. Parliamentary opponents of the Pakistani government have exploited that divide by fanning the dispute.
“I’m carrying a message from the Parliament of Pakistan,” Qureshi said after meeting Kerry. “There are some misperceptions, concerns raised” that need to be addressed.
Qureshi said he had reiterated “loud and clear” that “Pakistan will not compromise on its sovereignty,” while adding that he understands “the bill intends to build a partnership.” He said he would work with Congress to clarify understanding of the legislation in his country.
“The bill has not been characterized accurately in some quarters,” Kerry said. “We need to respond in a way that will address those concerns.”
Support Needed
The strain the issue has put on U.S.-Pakistani relations comes as the Obama administration is under pressure to revamp its strategy to defeat a resurgent Taliban militant movement in neighboring Afghanistan. The U.S. needs the support of the Pakistani military in cracking down on terror groups along the border.
Criticism of the bill from prominent voices in Pakistan has prompted some U.S. lawmakers to question how Pakistani leaders view the relationship with the U.S..
“It’s Pakistani politics – there are agencies and players in Pakistan that want to show they’re standing up to America. To what: our gifts, our support, our best wishes?” Rep. Gary Ackerman, a New York Democrat and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, said in an interview yesterday.
Last week, Ackerman said, ‘If Pakistan doesn’t want us as a partner, that’s up to them. But should they take such a decision, they should do so knowing full well that our military assistance, advanced technology and intelligence cooperation are not gifts, but the specific consequences” of a working relationship between the two countries.
‘Long-Term Commitment’
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said yesterday the aid measure “represents the kind of long-term commitment” that is in the interests of both countries.
“It’s hard to see how that impinges upon the relationship between the Pakistani military and the Pakistani civilian government,” he said.
Qureshi met yesterday with Kerry, Berman, and Richard Holbrooke, U.S. special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The assistance measure was co-sponsored in the Senate by Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat, and Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican; Berman, a California Democrat, spearheaded it in the House.
The U.S. provides more than $1 billion a year to Pakistan in military assistance.