US lawmakers will soon introduce a measure on expanding socio-economic assistance for Pakistan to $1.5 billion annually that is likely to include an additional one-time $5 billion in support of the democratic government's efforts to pull the key South Asian country out of its economic troubles.
According to a prominent American newspaper on Monday the economic support initiative is part of the policy shift Washington is in the process of making in its relationship with the anti-terrorism ally in the region, considered critical to US security interests.
The assistance will be geared towards enabling the elected government to combat violent extremism more comprehensively, particularly in its tribal border areas along Afghanistan, where thousands of US troops are batting a spreading Taliban insurgency.
"Two influential senators are expected to file legislation in the coming days that would triple non-military US aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year and include $5 billion to stave off an imminent economic crisis," The Christian Science Monitor reported. The report came days after the Obama Administration held review consultations with Pakistani and Afghan officials on evolving future US policy toward the militancy-hit border region.
Citing some of the pressing challenges facing the nuclear-armed country including its economic woes, the report said "the shift is part of an increasing awareness of Pakistan's precarious position - and that more than military operations will be needed to build a stable state capable of beating back extremism in the long-term."
Senator John Kerry, chairman of the influential Foreign Relations Committee and Ranking Republican member Senator Richard Lugar are lead supporters of the expected new legislation on Pakistan, to be known as Kerry-Lugar Act. Kerry made a pitch for the much-needed additional $5 billion aid for Pakistan in the light of a new Atlantic Council report on US relations with Pakistan last week, cautioning that the time was running out.
The legislative measure mirrors a plan that Vice President Joseph Biden proposed last year when he was still a senator. Meanwhile, the Pakistani diplomats, led by Ambassador Husain Haqqani, have been meeting with leaders on the Capital Hill to underscore the importance of economic support for Pakistan.
Experts say the shift is admission that the former Bush administration's over reliance on security aspects of the anti-terror fight did not work. Last week, the Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, also highlighted the importance of a holistic approach to addressing the problem of extremism in the long-term perspective.
The monitor also reported that the Pentagon is also on board with regard to latest efforts to aid the democratically elected Pakistani government as part of a comprehensive plan to stabilise the restive Pak-Afghan border region. In this respect, the report refers to Pentagon officials who last week met with Pakistan army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
The Pentagon officials support, a more comprehensive relationship, with Pakistan, that also includes smarter and more effective military assistance, the report added. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also sounded a similar note when she met with top Pakistani and Afghan diplomats last week. Defence Secretary Robert Gates underlined the need for wide-ranging Pakistan support in an interview Sunday.
"I will just say that I think that the key here is our being able to cooperate with and enable the Pakistanis to be able to deal with this problem on their own sovereign territory." "I believe, based on my talks with the Pakistanis here in Washington this week, this past week, that, they have - they clearly now understand that what's going on up there in that border area is as big a risk to the stability of Pakistan as it is a problem for us in Afghanistan."