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The US House of Representatives has adopted $701 million assistance package for Pakistan, which is the first instalment of $3 billion five-year US assistance package announced in June 2003.
Out of $701 million, $300 million is for economic assistance, $300 for foreign military financing; while out of remaining $101 million, $40 million is for narcotics control, $29 million for child survival and health, $29 million for development assistance, and $6 million for anti-terrorism.
"It is the highest level of assistance which Pakistan will receive", Mohammad Sadiq, deputy chief of the mission, told APP, which is symbolic of the close and cordial bilateral ties between Pakistan and United States.
"It is now in the preliminary stages in the Senate, and will go to the full Senate committee which is to consider the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill. Once adopted by the Senate, it will then go to the US President for signature for a bill to become a document", he said, adding the US financial 2005 starts on October 1, 2004.
Mohammad Sadiq expressed the confidence that "the bill for US assistance allocations for Pakistan will also smoothly pass through the US Senate."
Both Houses of the US Congress - the Senate and the House of Representatives - go on recess on July 23, he said, adding the US House of Representatives also passed a sum of $56 million for India.
Sadiq said the total amount adopted by the House for world over US assistance allocations for FY05 comes to $17 billion, while it was initially, proposed for about $19 billion, ie $2 billion less than the initial request by the US administration. The reduction of $1.9 billion is in the amount requested for the Millennium Challenge Account, which was initially for $2.5 billion.
The amount of $701 million for Pakistan is the same, as earlier approved by the Appropriations Committee, he added.
Sadiq said Congressman Jim Colby (R-Arizona), chairman, Sub-Committee in the House of Representatives, lent a whole-hearted vocal support for adoption of $701 million allocation for Pakistan.
Congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) had proposed an amendment for curtailment of $300 million from the amount of $701 million of allocation proposed for Pakistan, but at the eleventh hour, he did not press for it, smelling bare support for his amendment, he added.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (R-Houston) and Congressman Joseph Pitts (R-Pennsylvania) were the other main supporters for Pakistan.
On July 16, the United States also waived a $495.3 million debt Islamabad owed to Washington as part of its debt relief programme for Pakistan.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Rep. Ron Paul said the purpose of his amendment was not to oppose Pakistan or support India, adding the amendment he proposed was in the overall context, based on his reservations on the US policy, subsequently, he, however, withdrew his amendment.
During the consideration of the bill in the House of Representatives, a number of amendments were moved, but could not muster any support or get through.
It may be recalled that during their visits to Washington, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri had met a number of US legislators, including Congressman Jim Colby.
Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi held separate meetings with over 60 US Senators and Congressmen, during the last three months, discussing, among other matters, bilateral relations, co-operation in the ongoing war on terror, and proposed assistance allocations for Pakistan.
During the voting in the House of Representatives, Pakistan received a clear-cut bipartisan support, which speaks eloquently for the cordial multiyear and multi-faceted nature of Pak-US relations.
On June 23, 2003, President General Pervez Musharraf held historic meeting with President George W. Bush at Camp David.
Bush, in his statement, had announced $3 billion US assistance for Pakistan, assuring that US administration would "work with the US Congress" for extending the multi-year assistance package.

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2004

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