ISLAMABAD, Feb 11: The Senate was told on Friday that the US government was providing $27.5 million to Pakistan as development assistance for its education sector.

The information was placed before the Senate, as US government had declassified its previously secret documents which explained the policy reasons for funding of Pakistan's education sector.

The document, entitled "Strategy for Eliminating the Threat from the Jihadist Networks of Al-Qaeda: Status and Prospects" said the US government was pursuing policies that would help "to build up a secular educational system that ends rural Pakistan's exclusive reliance on the fundamentalist madressahs."

The document said: "As we seek Pakistani cooperation, we need to keep in mind that Pakistan has been most willing to cooperate with us on terrorism when its role is invisible or at least plausibly deniable to the powerful Islamist right wing."

The document further said: "Overt Pakistani support for US action against bin Laden, who is a hero especially in the Pashtun-ethnic border areas near Afghanistan, would be so unpopular as to threaten Musharraf's government."

Interestingly, the question that required the government to place before the Senate the amount of the US funding was asked by a senator of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, which had won majority votes in the Pashtun belt.

In reply to Senator Dr Muhammad Said's question, the government told the house that $27.5 million assistance was made available on October 1, 2004 and will continue till September 30, 2005.

In the written response, the house was told that the US funds would be used under eight major heads including education sector reform assistance programme; releasing confidence and creativity; creating democratic schools; establishing examination boards; FATA school reconstruction and rehabilitation project; Pakistan teacher education and professional development programme; developing information communication and technology resource centres and scholarship programme for undergraduate and graduate students.

Replying to supplementary questions, Education Minister Javed Ashraf Qazi told the house that during meetings with the USAID officials, he had rejected some programmes which were proposed to have been taken under the US funding.

The minister said he had taken steps to streamline the funding through the education ministry to keep a proper check and accountability of the use of funds. He said instead of sending the teachers to the US, he had asked the US government to send their master trainers to Pakistan.

The minister said he had also rejected the programme of creating democratic schools after a detailed meeting with the US officials. As another MMA Senator Prof Ghafoor questioned the education minister about the establishment of Agha Khan Board, he told the house that the government had allowed setting up of educational boards in the private sector. He said in addition to the Agha Khan Board, Askari Board would also be established soon.

When Senator Bibi Yasmeen asked the minister of state for finance, Omar Ayub, to provide details of the areas in which resource centres would be established with US funding, the minister expressed his inability to do so.

Mr Ayub said he was answering questions on behalf of the minister of state for economic affairs and did not have the relevant details. Ms Khar was not present in the house when the question related to her ministry came up for discussion.