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US to curb drone attacks on Pak soil
The United States has promised to curb airstrikes by drones against suspected militants in Pakistan, as part of a joint counter-terrorism strategy agreed with the new civilian government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in Islamabad, according to a report published in the Guardian on Thursday. The British daily reported that the strategy would be supported by an aid package potentially worth more than $7 billion, which is due to go before Congress for approval in the next few months. The package would triple the amount of American non-military aid to Pakistan, and is aimed at redefining the bilateral relationship, US officials say. Pakistan will also be given a democracy dividend of up to $1 billion a reward for holding peaceful elections and forming a coalition government, the Guardian reported. Of that, $200 million could be approved in the next few days, it added. Aid: The aid package being put together by Democratic Senator Joseph Biden will mark a decisive break in US policy on Pakistan, which for much of the past nine years focused on President Pervez Musharraf and the Pakistani military as Washingtons primary partners in the war on terror. Officials in Washington said on Wednesday that the shift had already been made. Senator Biden wants to show the relationship is much broader than a military one, and that we are willing to sustain it over time, one of the senators senior aides said. A US administration official said, Each day Musharrafs influence becomes less and less. Civilians are in control. People arent meeting with Musharraf anymore . . . we are very pleased with the new civilian government. Posted by: Fred 2008-04-18 |
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