WASHINGTON, Feb 8: US President George W. Bush on Wednesday waived restrictions on exports to Pakistan, saying it would ease the democratic transition in the South Asian nation and help combat terrorism.

In a memo to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Mr Bush said he was easing prohibitions under the Appropriations Act, which targets countries where a democratically elected government has been overturned by a coup, according to a White House statement.

Mr Bush said the waiver would “facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan” and is “important to United States efforts to respond to, deter or prevent acts of international terrorism,” according to the statement.

“Accordingly, I hereby waive, with respect to Pakistan, the prohibition contained” in the Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programmes Appropriations Act, Mr Bush told Ms Rice, asking her to inform Congress about the change.

Following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the United States, Washington passed broad legislation waiving restrictions on US arms exports and military assistance to Pakistan and India.

These countries were sanctioned following nuclear tests in May 1998, and additional sanctions were levied against Pakistan when President Pervez Musharraf launched the coup.

US-Pakistani ties have improved considerably since President Musharraf made a key decision after the 2001 attacks to back Washington’s ouster of Afghanistan’s radical Taliban regime, which had supported the terror group Al Qaeda.

The United States regards Pakistan as a non-Nato ally, a designation given to close friends. —AFP