WASHINGTON, April 11: The US Congress has only one binding legal provision which calls for restricting US military assistance to Pakistan and there has been no new move to impose such sanctions, congressional aides told Dawn.
Earlier on Wednesday, some news reports in Pakistan claimed that senators Chris Dodd, John Kerry and Joseph Biden have submitted a resolution to make military aid conditional on Pakistan’s performance in fighting terrorism and introducing democratic reforms.
When contacted, staffers for two of the three senators said they had submitted no new resolution while a previous version proposed to soften the impact of the House provision was now dead.The report of yet another move, however, caused alarm in Pakistan, forcing Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to tell the United States that any legislation that attaches conditions to military aid would involve a negative public reaction that would prove to be counter-productive.
US-Pakistan relations have been under intense strain for months because of a renewed Taliban insurgency in neighbouring Afghanistan. Several US lawmakers have publicly urged the Bush administration to link its aid to Pakistan to the country’s performance in the war against terror.
In January, the House of Representatives adopted a provision, which called for a presidential certification each time a request for military assistance to Pakistan is sent to Congress.
