The US House Appropriation Committee has stressed need for transparent and systematic disbursement of American annual aid of $1.5 billion, which primarily aims at promoting education, health and general welfare of IDPs (internally displaced persons) of Swat and Malakand.
The head of the visiting delegation of US congressmen of the House Appropriation Committee, John F Tierney, said that Pakistan's reservations over the Kerry-Lugar Bill were nothing more than a misunderstanding between the two countries.
Talking to journalists at a hotel here, he said that America fully understands the sensitivity and seriousness of the challenges and crisis being confronted by Pakistan, for which the American administration would go all-out to assist Pakistan. The delegation of visiting congressmen of the House Appropriation Committee includes George Miller, Peter Welsh, and others.
Regretting any previous misunderstanding over the Kerry-Lugar Bill, he said that these funds would be realised out of special funds raised from donations by American masses, for which the American government was answerable to its people, through strict auditing.
He said that this aid would be primarily disbursed by USAID through NGOs and other private institutions who would utilise it for development projects in every nook and corner of Pakistan. He added that disbursement of this aid via NGOs and private institutions in no way would reflect American mistrust on the government of Pakistan, but was rather the policy of American administration to disburse its aid through NGOs and private institutions of that country. He also denied that there was any mechanism available for joint accountability between Pakistan and America.
He said that American government desired long-term strategic and mutual co-operation with Pakistan, for which the welfare and prosperity of Pakistan was a must.
He said that stressing transparent disbursement of aid realised through Kerry-Lugar Bill was an endeavour to enforce the realisation that this aid was not meant for any individual or group, but America rather wanted to cater to entire Pakistani nation's needs; while strict monitoring was also mandatory to satisfy American masses that their donations were being justifiably disbursed. "It is the mandatory tradition of democratic governments that any aid so disbursed has to be accounted for so that masses should be provided with due aid and opportunities", he added.
He also expressed Americans' keen desire of better relations and CBMs between Pakistan and India, and said that composite dialogues between two countries should begin as soon as possible in order top attain a peaceful and conducive environment for the region.
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