WASHINGTON: The US is preparing a new USD 2 billion security assistance to Pakistan over the next five years to bolster the country’s anti-terrorism capability, notwithstanding objections raised by New Delhi that the aid could be diverted for use against India.
The package aims to address Pakistan’s insistence that it does not have the wherewithal “to go after terrorists” and will pave the way for supply of American helicopters, weapon systems and advanced technical equipment to intercept communication to Islamabad, CNN reported quoting US officials.
The security assistance is expected to be unveiled at the US-Pak strategic dialogue being held here later this week and is being sanctioned in spite of the Obama administration of late being critical of Islamabad’s sincerity in the fight against terrorism, the TV network said.
The USD 2 billion package will be on top of billions of dollars that the Obama Administration has already given to Pakistan in military aid and a USD 7.5 billion aid package over five years in non-military counter terrorism assistance approved by Congress last year.
“The key is to beef up their ability to go after militants, it can’t be diverted to other threats,” one senior US official was quoted as saying.
Islamabad has been stonewalling pressure from Washington to launch a major military campaign on North Waziristan, which US security agencies believe to be the hot-bed of al-Qaeda, Haqqani network and other militant groups.
The latest US military assistance to Pakistan comes weeks after Defense Minister A K Antony expressed India’s strong opposition to such a supply of military hardware.
Antony, who was in Washington last month to hold bilateral talks with the Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, and the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, had conveyed India’s concerns about supply of US arms to Pakistan, arguing that a section of these are being targeted against India.
“We feel that even though the US is giving arms to Pakistan to fight terrorism, our practical experience is (that) it is always being misused. They are diverting a portion against India. Certainly I will express my concern,” Antony had said in Washington during his visit.
However, US officials defended their decision to provide fresh set of arms and equipment to Pakistan, as Pentagon believes that the Pak Army lacks the necessary resources and capabilities to launch a decisive fight against terrorism in the border regions of the country.
“We recognize they need different kinds of capacities and more of them to handle extremists form within their own border,” one official said.
“They do need more capacity and the kinds of capabilities that are geared toward fighting extremists, rather than a major land conflict,” he said.
In its latest report to the Congress, the White House said that Pakistan was not doing enough in the war against terrorism.
The report said that from March to June, the Pakistani military “continued to avoid military engagements that would put it in direct conflict with Afghan Taliban or (al Qaeda) forces in North Waziristan.
This is as much a political choice as it is a reflection of an under-resourced military prioritizing its targets.”
Pakistan Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi are leading the Pakistani delegation for the US-Pak strategic dialogue involving three days of meetings with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
-PTI
