ISLAMABAD, Sept 12: Islamabad will seek maximum flexibility in the use of the $3 billion US aid package announced for Pakistan by President Bush, informed sources told Dawn on Friday.

President Bush announced the five-year multi-billion dollar package after his meeting with President Pervez Musharraf at Camp David on June 24.

“This aid issue will be a common talking point for President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Jamali in their upcoming meetings with the US president,” sources said.

When officials involved in the process were asked to identify particular areas in which Pakistan needed this flexibility, they said it was mostly in the social sector development.

The official view in this regard is that the economic aid should not go through the non-government organisations (NGOs), as “it would be a waste”.

Pakistan is also considering using two-thirds of the economic aid for its debt retirement, well-placed government sources said

“We are inclined towards making two-thirds of the $1.5 billion in economic aid available for debt write-off,” a senior bureaucrat maintained.

Pakistan’s outstanding debt to the US is around $1.8 billion.

The US aid package, which is a total grant, is earmarked for the US financial year 2005, which commences in October 2004. Half of the grant is for the Economic Support Fund and the other half for defence supplies.

The disbursement of the US aid has been linked to Pakistan’s continued commitment to the global anti-terrorism campaign, nuclear non-proliferation and restoration of democracy in the country. The US president has to certify every year that Pakistan is adhering to these preconditions.

Meanwhile, the government is optimistic that the move by the pro-Indian lobbies in the US Congress to block the $3 billion aid package for Pakistan will be aborted.