|
|
|
| 24 November 2004 | Wednesday | 11 Shawwal 1425 |
US Congress approves $701m aid for Pakistan
WASHINGTON, Nov 23: The US Congress has approved $701 million for Pakistan, including $300 million in military assistance, says a congressional document.
The official proceeding of the budget session, released on Monday, showed that Pakistan will get this amount during the current US fiscal year which began on Oct 1. The budget for the current year was approved after a seven-week delay.
On Saturday evening, both houses of US legislature approved a $388 billion budget that included substantial military and economic assistance for both Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The initial report, released late Saturday night, mentioned only $300 million in military assistance for Pakistan. But the official version of the budget session, released after the weekend, showed that the Bush administration had also requested $300 million for economic support fund and $101 million of development assistance for Pakistan. This includes funds for child survival, health, narcotics-control and law enforcement.
Congress approved all three requests, thus setting aside a total of $701 million for Pakistan during the current fiscal year. The money comes from the multi-year, $3 billion package President George W. Bush announced for Pakistan on June 24, 2003 when President Pervez Musharraf visited the Camp David. But the US Senate has to meet again on Wednesday to remove a technical mistake pointed out by a senator after the adoption of the bills. The senator reminded the house the bills contained a clause on setting up an income disclosure authority but this provision was not discussed during the debate.
Until this technical mistake is corrected, the bills will not be considered fully adopted but congressional aides said this was a mere formality which will be corrected either by the full house or a relevant committee on Wednesday.
Since 2004 was an election year, this was the last budget of the 108th Congress. Before going into recess in October, Congress had adopted four bills, technically called 'continuing resolutions,' which authorize the administration to meet the national expenditures during the interim period. The 109th Congress will give a formal assent to the budget when it meets on Jan. 20, when the new president will also take oath.
It is for the first time that a military assistance of $300 million for Pakistan has been allocated in the US budget. The move is seen in Washington as an appreciation of the key role Pakistan plays in the war against terrorism.
During the budget session, the Bush administration told the lawmakers that funds for Pakistan will bolster capabilities of that country's armed forces that are helping the United States hunt down suspected Al Qaeda members along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
The allocation is also seen as an expression of confidence in President Musharraf who is often praised by the Bush administration for risking domestic tensions and the ire of the extremists for supporting the US-led campaign against terrorism.
Last week, the Bush administration notified Congress that it planned to provide a $1.3 billion dollar arms package for Pakistan, including eight P-3C Orion planes to beef up surveillance of its coasts and borders to stop the movement of terrorists and drug smugglers.
|
|
|
|