WASHINGTON - Five years after Pakistan was revived as a key US ally after the Sept. 11 attacks, the new Democratic-led Congress is pressuring Islamabad and the Bush administration to do more to combat militant groups and stabilize the South Asian country.
The US House of Representatives recently adopted a bill requiring President George W. Bush to certify Pakistan is making “all possible efforts” to prevent the Taleban from operating in areas under its sovereign control as a condition of continued US military aid.
| That's going to be a hard one for George to sign with a straight face. |
The US Senate is now mulling its response and may take a different approach, perhaps by increasing aid and urging that Pakistan move away from military rule, as well as crack down on Al Qaeda along the Afghan-Pakistan border, Senate aides said. The two chambersÂ’ versions would have to be reconciled before becoming law.
The House vote was “definitely a shot across the bow both for the (President Pervez) Musharraf government and the Bush administration to get serious about preventing Pakistan from being a safe haven for terrorists,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA South Asia analyst now with the Brookings Institution.
| It's a useful shot, but the House shouldn't be conducting foreign policy. It's not time to squeeze Perv like a grape. Someday, but not today. |
Experts say the Taleban has a virtual mini-state in northern Pakistan, using a recent peace deal with Islamabad to expand suicide bomber training and fortifying its alliance with Al Qaeda. “It’s clearly unacceptable the amount of difficulty being created for our troops and for NATO in Afghanistan by the lack of Pakistani resolve with the Taleban,” Republican Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana told a Senate hearing.
Lawmakers and their aides are now concerned that US policy toward Pakistan is not working but many also doubt the House bill, which seeks forced compliance with US goals, would achieve better results.
Pakistan receives about $850 million annually in US economic, military and counternarcotics aid and about $350 million of that could be affected by the House bill, congressional experts say. But Alan Kronstadt, South Asia expert with the Library of CongressÂ’ Congressional Research Service, said Pakistan receives far more assistance -- $4.75 billion in 2001-2006 -- from the Pentagon as reimbursement for supporting US-led counterterrorism operations. These funds may not be affected by the House legislation, experts said.
| At some point that money has to be put on the table, and Perv has to understand that it's not a free ride. |
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