US govt asks Congress to sanction $370m

The US Secretary of State told the Senate appropriation Committee that during the US-Pak strategic dialogue, which ended on Thursday, the American delegation worked very hard, “in fact, late into the night” -- to “advance the resolve that we have begun building with the Pakistani leadership”. - Photo by Reuters.

WASHINGTON: The Obama administration has urged Congress to release $370 million for humanitarian projects in the areas where Pakistan was conducting military operations against the militants.

Disclosing this, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a congressional panel that military offensives in these areas had created new humanitarian needs that, “if not addressed immediately, could make these areas ripe for extremism”.

The situation in rest of Pakistan, she warned, was also alarming as “in much of the country, water, energy and economic problems create new challenges”.

The success in the war against militants, she observed, “Depends on rapidly and sustainably scaling up our efforts, especially on high-impact projects.”

She described these projects as those that “visibly demonstrate” America’s long-term commitment to the Pakistanis in expanding their capacity, while ensuring accountability.

“The $370 million we’re requesting for assistance and operations in this supplemental will allow us to expand civilian cooperation at a critical moment,” she said.

The supplemental includes a total of $4.5 billion in foreign assistance, mainly in Afghanistan and Pakistan, for both civil and military projects.

“We’re moving in the right direction, and the progress that we’ve made is possible because we have demonstrated a clear commitment to work with the people and the government of Pakistan,” said Secretary Clinton.

She told the Senate appropriation Committee that during the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue, which ended on Thursday, the American delegation worked very hard – “in fact, late into the night” -- to “advance the resolve that we have begun building with the Pakistani leadership”.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy asked the secretary if the Obama administration had taken precautionary measures to ensure that US assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan was not misappropriated as both countries had “enormous corruption”.

“What we are trying to do in Afghanistan and Pakistan in particular is to build in safeguards, to have certification systems in place so that we can hold entities that we contribute funds to account,” said the secretary.

Source: http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect/dawn-content-library/dawn/the-newspaper/national/19-rehabilitation-in-nwfp%2C-fata-us-govt-asks-congress-to-sanction-%24370m-830-hh-04