June 26, 2008	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 21, 1429

WASHINGTON, June 25: The United States has given Pakistan nearly $6 billion to pursue terrorists since the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks against the United States but with little to no proof that the money has been used for that purpose, an independent audit has found.

The assessment by the Government Accountability Office, released on Tuesday, angered members of Congress who say they are concerned that Pakistan -- the closest US ally in the war on terrorism -- is milking the US government.

GAO found, for example, that the US had recently gave Pakistan more than $200 million for air defence radars without bothering to investigate whether the money was needed specifically to go after terrorists. Another example included $45 million for road and bunker construction without evidence they were ever built.

“The US government is being asked to reimburse Pakistan for non-incremental air defence radar maintenance when Al Qaeda is not even known to have an air force,” said Rep Howard Berman, a Democrat and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “The purpose of these funds is to support the fight against extremists, not to boost Pakistan’s conventional warfare capability.”

Since the 2001 terrorist attacks, the US has given Pakistan some $10.8 billion in aid. About half of the money, $5.6 billion, has been used to reimburse Pakistan for military operations.—AP