The United States State Department has requested Congress to approve $ 2.4 billion in allocation for Pakistan for the fiscal year 2013. The Pakistan support and expenditure request is part of the overall budget request the Obama Administration forwarded to Congress for the new fiscal year, beginning October 1, 2012.
The request for Pakistan says the assistance to Pakistan is aimed at strengthening democratic and civil institutions that provide a bulwark against extremism, and support joint security and counterterrorism efforts, including $800 million for the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund. Of the total request for Pakistan $197 million supports the US government''s civilian presence, as well as programs for engagement with civil society. More than one billion dollars aid is part of the ongoing assistance programme.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton forwarding the Department''s budget request noted that building a stable Afghanistan depends on effective cooperation with Pakistan "Maintaining our partnership with Pakistan is challenging but it is critical to our national security," she said, according to the Executive Budget Summary provided to journalists at a State Department briefing.
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