WASHINGTON, Feb 27: President George W. Bush has cleared the way for US aid to Pakistan by certifying that Islamabad is cooperating in the war on terrorism.

The certification, received at the Congress on Friday, is required under a restriction imposed last year under the influence of Indian lobbies. The restriction binds the president to certify every year that Pakistan is cooperating in the war on terror.

The presidential certification was conveyed to the US Congress by Secretary of State Colin Powell while briefing the Senate on his department's budget proposals for 2005. The certification will enable Pakistan to receive foreign aid as a front-line state in the war against terrorism.

The White House statement from President Bush said: "Consistent with the authority vested in me by the constitution and laws of the US, including the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defence and for the Reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004, I hereby determine for the purposes of that act that the government of Pakistan is cooperating with the US in the global war on terrorism."

"You are authorized and directed to report this determination to the Congress and to arrange for its publication in the Federal Register," the statement added. The 2005 budget for international affairs provides over $5.7 billion for assistance to countries that have joined the US in the war on terrorism.

Mr Powell said while progress had been made in attacking terrorist organizations around the globe, much more remains to be done. President Bush's budget proposal for countries like Pakistan supported that effort, he added.

Mr Powell said Pakistan would get $700 million to help advance security and economic cooperation as well as to improve the quality of life of its citizens. Major recipients of this aid include countries central to the Middle East peace process- Egypt, Israel and Jordan - and front-line states in the war on terrorism, including Turkey, Indonesia, Pakistan and Afghanistan.