WASHINGTON – On the final day of US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue Friday, the Obama administration announced a $2 billion, multiyear security assistance package to help Pakistan fight extremists taking refuge in safe havens along its border with Afghanistan.
The pledge came at the concluding plenary session at which Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said his government will give “no space” to terrorists on its soil.
The aid pledge, which is subject to Congressional approval, was announced by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It provides a long-term US security commitment along the lines of the five-year, $7.5 billion civilian aid package for Pakistan approved by Congress last year.
The five-year package would pay for military hardware and equipment Pakistan needs for the counterinsurgency fight, Clinton said.
“The United States has no stronger partner when it comes to counter terrorism efforts against the extremists who threaten us both than Pakistan,” Clinton said.
The aid would extend from 2012 to 2017. It comes on the heels of a White House report sent to Congress earlier this month that used unusually tough language suggesting Pakistan is not doing nearly enough to confront the Taliban and al Qaeda, despite repeated Obama administration statements that Pakistan is working hard to crack down on militants.
Qureshi said the United States should not dismiss PakistanÂ’s contributions, and insisted that suggestions that PakistanÂ’s efforts in the war on terror are half-hearted are unfounded.
“Nearly 7,000 of our valiant law enforcement officials have perished in this fight,” Qureshi said. “We do not know what greater evidence to offer than the blood of our people. Madam Secretary, we are determined to win this fight.”
Tensions between the United States and Pakistan rose in recent weeks after increased American drone attacks over the Afghan-Pakistani border, one of which killed two Pakistani border guards. Pakistan authorities responded by closing key coalition supply routes into Afghanistan.
The United States has since apologised for the incident, and the routes have reopened.
US officials acknowledge the Pakistani military is stretched thin since this summerÂ’s devastating floods, and has had to divert resources from the fight against extremists to conduct relief efforts. They hope the new security assistance will address the militaryÂ’s resource limitations so Pakistan can redouble efforts to go after militants.
In his comments, at the plenary meeting of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, Foreign Minister Qureshi expressed irritation over what he said are US insinuations that PakistanÂ’s effort against extremism is lacking.
Pakistan, he said, has sustained 30,000 civilian deaths in recent years in a “daily fare of suicide bombings” and other attacks. Seven thousand Pakistani soldiers and police have lost their lives in the struggle — more than combined NATO losses in Afghanistan, Qureshi added.
“Nonetheless, it unfortunately seems easy to dismiss Pakistan’s contributions and sacrifices. There are still tongue-in-cheek comments, even in this capital, about Pakistan’s heart not really being in this fight,” he said.
At the plenary session, Qureshi expressed gratitude for US flood relief efforts, support which Clinton said will continue as Pakistan moves toward long-term recovery. Clinton again urged Pakistan to reform its tax system to yield more funds for flood relief and other needs from its wealthy.
