WASHINGTON, July 16: The Bush administration plans to provide $750 million to Pakistan for the development of Fata in a bid to end influence of Al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the area.
US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told a congressional panel last week that the Bush administration would give $100 million a year to Pakistan for the next five years for the development of the area.This would be separate from $100 million a month the US provides to Pakistan for monitoring the Pakistan-Afghan border.
Mr Boucher said that Pakistan would also contribute a $100 million a year for the next 10 years for the development of the tribal region.
Reports in the US media indicated that besides the annual $100 million for five years, Pakistan would also receive additional $250 million for the uplift of the tribal belt.
Pakistan already receives almost $2 billion a year from the United States since it joined the US-led war against terror after the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
It is not yet clear who will be the beneficiaries of the additional $750 million in aid but The New York Times said on Sunday that the question had prompted rigorous debate between local officials and American planners concerned that millions might fall into the wrong hands.
The local political agents and tribal chiefs in the hinterland on the Afghan border have for years accommodated the very groups the US and Pakistani governments seek to drive out, the report said.
