ISLAMABAD, March 15: Pakistan welcomed on Saturday the US government’s decision to lift economic sanctions against Pakistan to further help its economy.

“This decision of waiving economic sanctions was long overdue and we welcome it as it will go a long way to further cement political and economic relations between the two countries,” Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said.

He told Dawn that the promise of restoring democracy was fulfilled in October 2002 when elections were held. “And since then Pakistan was expecting the lifting of these economic sanctions.”

However, the information minister agreed that the timing of the new economic waiver was important. “This decision is good for our economy.”

Foreign Office spokesman Aziz Ahmad Khan told reporters that Pakistan welcomed the decision of the Bush administration to lift the remaining economic sanctions against the country.

Nevertheless, he said, Pakistan was waiting for the official communication from the US government to be able to offer any detailed reaction over the issue.

Economic Affairs Division Secretary Dr Waqar Masood Khan, when contacted, said now the economic sector was “regimeless” following President Bush’s announcement of Friday.

“There is a total waiver against economic sanctions and this is really good,” he added.

However, a senior official of the Foreign Office, when approached, said the latest waiver was for one year being given by the United States annually. “This is a process of every year and this is not something big over which we should be very excited,” he said, requesting anonymity.

Responding to a question, he said there was no waiver for military and nuclear sanctions, including the issue of F-16 aircraft.

The US government had imposed military and economic sanctions against Pakistan several times from 1990 to 1999. Pakistan had first faced these sanctions when it decided to go nuclear in 1998. Later in 1999, Bush government imposed economic sanctions when Gen Pervez Musharraf removed the democratically elected government of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. But some of the sanctions were removed when President Musharraf extended full support to the US after the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.

Generally, it is said the purpose of the latest US economic waiver was to muster Pakistan’s support in the United Nations Security Council against Iraq. In this behalf, Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali’s scheduled visit to the United States on March 28 is also being mentioned for extending what is termed “this new favour”.