Musharraf has to hold “free” and “fair” elections, else trouble times are ahead for him and for Pakistan…
US bill links Pak aid to free polls
By Nadeem Malik
ISLAMABAD: A new bill has been moved in the US House of Representatives to make assistance to Pakistan conditional with the holding of free and fair elections in the country.
The proposed law, seeking to modify the waiver authority of the US president regarding foreign assistance restrictions with respect to Pakistan, also wants permanent and verifiable end to cross-border terrorism as a precondition before exercising the waiver authority.
The US had removed democracy-related sanction through a legislation in October 2001 that empowered President Bush to waive, with respect to Pakistan, any provision of the foreign operations, export financing and related programmes appropriations Act for fiscal year 2003 that prohibits direct assistance to a country whose duly elected head of government was deposed by decree or military coup.
The proposed amendment had made it conditional by inserting new clauses in the said waiver authority. “If the president determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that: (a) the Government of Pakistan has conducted elections for a national assembly and that the elections were free and fair; (b) the Government of Pakistan has complied with its commitments to the United States to halt, permanently and verifiably, cross-border terrorism into India; (c) such waiver is important to United States efforts to respond to, deter, or prevent acts of international terrorism; and (d) such wavier would facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan,” then the waiver authority could be exercised under the proposed law. The bill had been referred to the Committee on International Relations.
Pakistan had already announced a schedule for the October polls. However, the main challenge for President Musharraf would be to make this process as open and transparent as possible. The response of the European Union, the US and the international financial institutions (IFIs) over the actual outcome of these elections would be very crucial for the future bilateral relationship.
Independent foreign policy experts believe that international community would look at the whole election process, and would also analyse the proposed constitutional reform package with a view to determining the intent of various measures at the official level. If it was established that the government was promoting any particular group or party, the credibility of elections would be undermined.
Similarly, if the intended constitutional reforms were seen as a tool to extend the personal rule, the image problem would create difficulties. Most of the political parties had demanded that changes in the constitution should be the prerogative of the yet-to-be-elected house of parliament.
Since IFIs had delayed the finalisation of Interim-Poverty Reduction and Strategy Paper (I-PRSP), which would serve as an overall policy paper for future assistance to Pakistan, till the new elected government takes over, the importance of electioneering and democratic institutions gets added significance.
HR 5267 IH
107th CONGRESS
2d Session
HR 5267
To modify the waiver authority of the President regarding foreign assistance restrictions with respect to Pakistan.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 26, 2002, Mr ACKERMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations A BILL
To modify the waiver authority of the President regarding foreign assistance restrictions with respect to Pakistan. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MODIFICATION OF WAIVER AUTHORITY.
Section (1)(b) of the Act entitled ‘An Act to authorise the President to exercise waivers of foreign assistance restrictions with respect to Pakistan through September 30, 2003, and for other purposes’, approved October 27, 2001 (Public Law 107-57), is amended to read as follows:
'(1) WAIVER- The President is authorised to waive, with respect to Pakistan, any provision of the foreign operations, export financing, and related programs appropriations Act for fiscal year 2003 that prohibits direct assistance to a country whose duly elected head of government was deposed by decree or military coup, if the President determines and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees that–
'(A) the Government of Pakistan has conducted elections for a national assembly and that the elections were free and fair;
'(B) the Government of Pakistan has complied with its commitments to the United States to halt, permanently and verifiably, cross-border terrorism into India;
'(C) such waiver is important to United States efforts to respond to, deter, or prevent acts of international terrorism; and
‘(D) such wavier would facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan.’