ISLAMABAD, Jan 11: Pakistan cautioned on Friday that any attempt to link the US aid to certain conditions could impede its role in the war on terror and hurt bilateral ties.

“Our role in war on terror would continue irrespective of whether or not there are any conditionalities attached to aid, because Pakistan is participating in it for its own interest, but we believe that unhampered assistance, provision of equipment and intelligence sharing is essential,” said Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq. He rejected a call by US Senate majority leader Harry Reid to make aid conditional to restoration of democracy and a UN-led inquiry into the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

In a letter to President Bush, Senator Reid emphasised that Pakistan had made little tangible progress towards reducing terrorism and extremism, expanding development assistance in key regions of the country, and enhancing the commitment to democracy and the rule of law; and thus additional pressure was warranted.

Mr Sadiq dismissed Senator Reid’s assertion as ‘inconsequential personal opinion’.

“This is his personal point of view to which he is entitled to, but it doesn’t make any difference to the policies.”

Reiterating the significance of Pak-US ties, the spokesman said the relationship was important not only for Pakistan but also for the US and for regional peace and stability.

He said he feared the strategically important Pak-US relationship could be dented if strings were to be attached to assistance.

“We believe that any conditionalities attached to this relationship, or assistance, are not beneficial and hence should be avoided,” Mr Sadiq said.

Regarding the demands made by Senator Reid, he said all decisions would be taken according to the ground situation; laws of the country and wishes of the people and not because of ‘someone writing letter to someone’.

The $515 billion Omnibus Defence Appropriations Bill, passed by the House of Representatives last month, had certain conditionalities attached to it in terms of Pakistan’s performance in the war on terror and correcting its record on democracy, human rights, media freedom and independence of judiciary. The $300 million Foreign Military Funding (FMF) programme had also been put under conditions requiring State Department’s certification on three specific counts, viz preventing Al Qaeda from operating in Pakistan, preventing the Taliban from using Pakistan territory as a sanctuary to launch attacks inside Afghanistan and the restoration of democracy.

About the controversy sparked by International Atomic Energy Agency chief Muhammad ElBaradei’s remarks about the safety of Pakistan’s strategic assets, Mr Sadiq said the IAEA had clarified that his remarks had been quoted out of context.

He said Pakistan enjoyed good cooperation with Mr ElBaradei and accepted the clarification that concerns about nuclear security were not aimed specifically at Pakistan, but at directing attention generally to the need to bolster nuclear safety and security everywhere in the world.