| Submit your comments on this article |
| India-Pakistan |
| US aid boost for Pakistan |
| 2003-03-15 |
| The US has waived its last remaining sanctions against Pakistan, a key ally in its declared war on terror. The move will allow the US to resume aid payments to Pakistan. The measures were imposed after the bloodless coup in 1999 which brought General Pervez Musharraf to power. How much of this will the jihadis graft off? President George W Bush said in a written statement that waiving the sanctions would ease the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan and was "important to US efforts to respond to, deter, or prevent acts of international terrorism." "And besides, we want a 'yes' vote if we put the resolution forward." Sources in Congress said it cleared the way for Pakistan, a current member of the UN Security Council, to get about $250m of economic aid already approved by Congress this year. Pakistan - one of six undecided Security Council members - has been under pressure to back the US over a resolution which could unleash war against Iraq. But US officials have denied that the latest move by Washington is connected to the Iraq crisis. One State Department official insisted it was a technical matter - a waiver of sanctions because of the new financial year. Technically speaking, just ignore the timing of this. The White House also announced on Friday that Mr Bush would meet Pakistan's Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, at the White House on 28 March. High on the agenda is the war on terror, along with regional and international issues. In the wake of the 11 September 2001 attacks on the US, Pakistan has emerged as a key ally in efforts to fight terrorism. It severed its Does a tiger change its stripes? |
| Posted by:Steve White |