To all those who say that we have gotten nothing out of the US. This we could be just Musharraf or Pakistan, but the point is that the US is paying us very well.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\10\29\story_29-10-2006_pg1_1
Sunday, October 29, 2006 E-Mail this article to a friend Printer Friendly Version
US paid Pakistan billions of dollars to counter terror
- Congressional Research Service says $3.6b given to Pakistan from Jan 2002 to Aug 2005
- $900m to be released in fiscal year 2007
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: Pakistan has received billions of dollars in reimbursement for its support of US-led counter-terrorism operations, while Congress has appropriated billions of dollars to reimburse Pakistan for its support of counter-terrorism operations.
According to an updated version of a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on Pakistan, “As of September 2006, a total of $6.64 billion had been appropriated for FY2002-FY2007 Defence Department spending for coalition support payments to Pakistan and other cooperating nations. Pentagon documents indicate that disbursements to Islamabad account for the great majority of these funds: about $3.6 billion for operations from January 2002 through August 2005, an amount roughly equal to one-quarter of Pakistan’s total military expenditures during that period. The Defence Department Appropriations Act, 2007 would allow that up to $900 million in Pentagon funds be used for FY2007 reimbursements.”
Pakistan is among the world’s leading recipients of US aid, obtaining more than $3.5 billion in direct US assistance for FY2002-FY2006, including $1.5 billion in security-related aid.
The CRS report says US concerns regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism, Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, weapon proliferation, the ongoing Kashmir problem and Pakistan-India tensions, human rights protection and economic development. It recalls that a US-Pakistan relationship marked by periods of both cooperation and discord was transformed by the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and the ensuing enlistment of Pakistan as a key ally in US-led counter-terrorism efforts.
The report adds, “Top US officials regularly praise Islamabad for its ongoing cooperation, although doubts exist about Islamabad’s commitment to some core US interests. Pakistan is identified as a base for terrorist groups and their supporters operating in Kashmir, India, and Afghanistan.”
The CRS notes that since late 2003, Pakistan’s army has been conducting “unprecedented” counter-terrorism operations in the country’s western tribal areas. Separatist violence in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state has continued unabated since 1989, with some notable relative decline in recent years. India has blamed Pakistan for the infiltration of Islamic militants into Indian Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies.
“The United States reportedly has received pledges from Islamabad that all ‘cross-border terrorism’ would cease and that any terrorist facilities in Pakistani-controlled areas would be closed. Similar pledges have been made to India. The United States strongly encourages maintenance of a ceasefire along the Kashmiri Line of Control and continued substantive dialogue between Islamabad and New Delhi,” according to the updated report.
The CRS notes that Pakistan’s macroeconomic indicators have turned positive since 2001, but widespread poverty persists. President George Bush seeks to expand US-Pakistan trade and investment relations, the CRS adds. The United States, it points out, urges restoration of democracy and expects Pakistan’s planned 2007 general elections to be free and fair. Congress has granted presidential authority to waive coup-related aid sanctions through FY2006.