KARACHI, June 27: The Pakistan People’s Party has termed the $3 billion economic package announced by the United States “peanuts” and maintained that it would not bring any relief to the people of Pakistan.

PPP information secretary Taj Haider said the package would make the military more strong as compared to democratic institutions in Pakistan, said a statement issued on Friday.

He said the package was also intended to protect long-term interests of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and against Iran and regretted that the Bush administration did not express concern over the state of democratic and constitutional dispensation in the country.

Mr Haider said President Bush’s attitude was regrettable especially when the rest of the Western world, including the European Union and the Commonwealth, had expressed strong reservations on the situation in Pakistan.

Mr Haider recalled a Centcom report according to which Pakistan had suffered a loss of $10 billion since 9/11.