The US Senate Appropriations Committee also has approved about $900 million in economic and security aid for Pakistan.

The measures aim at strengthening Pakistan’s economy at a time when it is engaged in a major battle against the Taliban militants in the NWFP.

Afghanistan would get about $980 million for economic development and agriculture programmes, to bolster national and provincial governments and democratic reforms.

The measures also include a provision calling for a progress report in one year's time on the two governments’ cooperation with US goals spelled out in President Barack Obama’s new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

‘Both the Senate but even more so, in the House version, the Pakistan Assistance Act is really requiring greater transparency,’ says Christine Fair, a Pakistan expert at a US think-tank called the Rand Corporation.

‘It wants the Pakistanis to adopt international accounting standards.’ Dr Fair noted that US lawmakers often complained that the money given to Pakistan in the past was ‘either stolen or otherwise inappropriately’ used. Now ‘there really is a concerted interest in getting a better bargain for American generosity.’

On Thursday evening, the House voted to approve a $96.7 billion bill to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the remaining four months of the US fiscal year, which expires on Sept. 30.

In the Senate, the appropriations committee unanimously approved its $91.3 billion legislation, which while broadly similar to the House version, includes several notable differences.

The House vote was 368-60, a strong affirmation of President Barack Obama's policies toward the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, although 51 Democrats opposed the measure in a protest against the continuation of the wars.

‘If it was wrong under Bush, it's wrong under Obama,’ said Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, one of the leading voices against the wars. ‘Just because a Democrat is in the White House doesn't make it right.’
 
Another Democrat, Lynne Woolsey of California, said ‘Don't tell the American people you are ending the war by continuing to fund the war. Don't tell the American people that the war will end when there are plans to leave 50,000 troops in Iraq. Don't tell the American people that the way out of Afghanistan is to escalate and more counter-insurgency.’

But House Speaker Pelosi said passage of the final war funding supplemental ‘closes a sad chapter in US history involving a tragic miscalculation in Iraq that distracted from the real fight against terrorism for far too long.’

In the House, the money for Islamabad was attached to the 2009 supplemental appropriations for Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the pandemic flu. The Senate included it in a measure to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30.

The House measures includes $597 million of economic assistance for Pakistan, meant for agriculture, food security, displaced persons, national and provincial governance, rule of law, and improved access to quality of education.

This economic package is $100 million above the administration's request. The package includes $400 million for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund which will be available on Sept. 30, 2009.

The committee version now goes to the full Senate for vote next week before Congress breaks for the Memorial Day recess. After the vote, the two chambers will reconcile their versions to send a final bill to President Obama for his signature.

The House measure includes $47.7 billion to cover the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through October 1, and another $23 billion to replace equipment damaged or worn out in the two conflicts.

The measure would help President Obama implement his new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, but some lawmakers are already expressing doubts about his ability to do so.

‘The president cannot wave a magic wand and end that war,’ said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Dave Obey, a Democratic critic of the two wars.

‘I have a profound doubt that he can succeed, not because of any problem with his policy but because I am dubious that there are the tools available in that region for us to succeed using any policy,’ said Mr Obey.

The Senate panel included $80 million for President Obama’s plan for shuttering the US detention prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, but with tight restrictions forbidding their use to transfer or free any detainees on US soil.

The measure withholds $50 million from the administration until a plan is submitted on how it intends to deal with the prisoners, held for their suspected involvement in terrorist activities. The House version rejected Mr Obama’s request and offered no money.

The Senate version includes funding for a boost to the International Monetary Fund's lending budget. President Obama has committed to contribute an additional $100 billion to the fund as it gears up its lending activities to help developing countries weakened by the global economic downturn.