WASHINGTON, Dec 8: The US administration has decided to change the disbursement procedure for development funds in Pakistan and is also increasing accountability for both economic and military assistance, State Department officials said.

Since 2004, the State Department has been providing straight budget support to Islamabad equalling $200 million a year, as part of a wider $3 billion five-year aid package. Under this package, Pakistan receives a total of $600 million a year, including $300 million of military assistance and another $100 million of economic assistance.

The $200 million aid, until now given directly to Islamabad, aims at developing education and health facilities in Pakistan. Some money is also given to the Finance Ministry for achieving specific budget targets.

The $3 billion aid package does not include coalition support funds, which is given directly to the Pakistani military for their role in the war on terror.

State Department Deputy Spokesperson Tom Casey told a recent briefing that Pakistan had received $9.6 billion since 2001, most from the coalition support funds.

A growing number of US lawmakers have voiced concerns in recent months that some of the funds Pakistan receives from the United States is used for suppressing opposition forces in Pakistan.

At a recent congressional hearing, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher assured a key Senate panel that Islamabad was not using the money it received from Washington for suppressing anti-government protests.

Lawmakers also raised concerns that once the funds were transferred to Pakistan, the United States had no control over how they were spent.

Seeking to assuage these concerns, the State Department said this week it would cease providing direct cheques to Pakistan’s Finance Ministry and would instead distribute the $200 million through specific development projects. These programmes will be overseen by contractors and non-governmental organisations approved by the US Agency for International Development.

“We’ve decided at this point that we’ll take the $200 million this year and spend it directly through aid, projects and contractors,” Mr Boucher said. He said his office was seeking to make sure it knew “exactly how the money is being spent and exactly who it’s going to”.

Mr Boucher said the US embassy had on more than one occasion denied or sent claims back to the government of Pakistan for further clarification.