Pakistan leading recipient of US aid

WASHINGTON—Pakistan is among the world’s leading recipients of U.S. aid, says Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, updated on November 14 and released this week. Including current appropriations and requests, it adds, Pakistan will receive about $3.4 billion in direct U.S. assistance for FY2002-FY2006. Almost half of this ($1.5 billion) is security-related aid.
Congress has granted President Bush authority to waive democracy-related sanctions through November 18, 2005. Citing the most recent developments, the CRS report states that on October 8, northern Pakistan was devastated by a major earthquake centered in Azad Kashmir, 70 miles north of Islamabad. At least 73,000 Pakistanis and Kashmiris were killed and millions more left homeless.
A November assessment by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank found that Pakistan needs $5.2 billion for earthquake relief and reconstruction. As of November 14, international donors had pledged about $1.1 billion for such efforts, but only one-third of this amount had been committed.
As of November 14, the United States had committed $156 million and provided material contributions including aircraft and rescue teams. The House and Senate have both passed resolutions (H.Res. 492 and S.Res. 274) mourning the loss of life and pledging ongoing support to the victims. President Bush has called on American citizens and businesses to contribute more funds to relief efforts in Pakistan. The report presents a chronology of events. On Pakistan-India relations, the CRS report says, while the humanitarian tragedy had brought hopes of a softening in troubled Pakistan -India relations, bilateral cooperation has been halting. On October 29, Pakistan and India issued a joint statement agreeing to open five crossing points on the Kashmiri Line of Control for earthquake relief efforts.
As of November 14, four such points had been opened, but only relief supplies (and no Kashmiris) had been allowed to cross. On October 31, President Musharraf telephoned Indian Prime Minister Singh to extend condolences for the loss of life in 10/29 terrorist bombings in New Delhi and to offer to assist in the criminal investigation. On November 12, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz held talks with Singh on the sidelines of a SAARC summit in Bangladesh, but no new steps were announced for improving bilateral relations. Aziz later expressed satisfaction with progress in the ongoing bilateral dialogue. The summar on Pakistan-U.S. relations says that a stable, democratic, economically thriving Pakistan is considered vital to U.S.interests in Asia. Key U.S. concerns regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism; Pakistan-Afghanistan relations; weapons proliferation;the ongoing Kashmir problem and economic development.—Online