Resumption of assistance: As PM flies out, US frees up $1.6b in aid

State Department officials attribute the move to a confluence of signs of greater cooperation from the country.

WASHINGTON/ ISLAMABAD:

Far from the media glare and with as little fanfare as possible, Washington announced on Saturday that it would release more than $1.6 billion in military and economic aid to Pakistan.

The move comes on the day Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif left Islamabad for the United States where he is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama and senior officials of his administration.

The assistance was suspended when relations between the two countries disintegrated over the Abbottabad raid that killed Osama bin Laden and deadly US airstrikes on a Pakistani border posts in Salala, Mohmand Agency, The Associated Press reported.



Over three weeks in July and August, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) informed Congress that it planned to restart a wide range of assistance, mostly dedicated to helping Pakistan fight terrorism. The US sees that effort as essential as it withdraws troops from Afghanistan next year and tries to leave a stable government behind.

Other funds focus on a range of items, including help for Pakistani law enforcement and the multibillion-dollar Diamer-Bhasha dam in a disputed territory.

The State Department told Congress that the US had not conducted any significant military financing for Pakistan since the “challenging and rapidly changing period of US-Pakistan relations” in 2011 and 2012.

The department stressed the importance now of enhancing Pakistan’s anti-terrorism capabilities through better communications, night-vision capabilities, maritime security and precision striking with F16 fighter jets.



The department told Congress on July 25 that it would spend $295 million to help Pakistan’s military. Twelve days later it announced $386 million more. A pair of notifications arriving on Aug 13 and worth $705 million centred on helping Pakistani troops and air force operating in the militant hotbeds of western Pakistan, and other counterinsurgency efforts.

The administration had until the end of September to provide Congress with ‘reprogramming’ plans at the risk of forfeiting some of the money, which spans federal budgets from 2009-2013.

State Department officials said the renewal of aid was not determined by any single event. But they noted a confluence of signs of greater cooperation, from Pakistan’s improved commitment to stamping out explosives manufacturing to its recent counter-terror offensive in tribal regions that have served as a primary sanctuary for the Taliban.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk publicly about the aid relationship ahead of Nawaz’s visit. They said the money would start reaching Pakistan in 2014 but take several years to disburse fully.

In Islamabad, Premier Nawaz said in a statement before his departure for Washington that he would discuss enhancing bilateral trade and investment ties and regional matters during his meetings with US officials.

This will be the first highest level official Pakistani visit to the United States in several years.

Over in Washington, State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said Secretary of State John Kerry will hold talks with Premier Nawaz on Sunday at the start of his trip. The two men would meet before Kerry heads on a visit to Europe, she told reporters.

Nawaz is also due to meet President Obama on Tuesday for the highest level White House talks between the two countries since the start of the US administration in 2009, another US official said.

“It’s an opportunity to broaden and deepen the relationship that we’ve both been working very hard towards in the last few years,” the senior State Department official said. “There have been significant irritants which I think have reduced quite a bit over the course of the last year,” the US official said.

Topping the agenda are likely to be counter-terrorism efforts, as well as Pakistan’s concerns over its economy and energy shortfall.

Besides a trouble-free exit of foreign forces from Afghanistan next year, the United States also wants Islamabad to do more to crack down on militant havens. Pakistan, meanwhile, is chafing at continued US drone strikes against militants on its territory.

Drones are “part of a very comprehensive conversation we have on security across the board”, the US official said. “As we talk about all these security issues that will be a key theme, not drones necessarily, but the security situation writ large.”


Published in The Express Tribune, October 20^th, 2013.