After reassuring India with a prompt clarification that the United States has neither given a clean chit to Pakistan nor lined up another massive aid package for it, Secretary of State John Kerry will travel to Ahmedabad this weekend to attend the “Vibrant Gujarat” summit.
In a sign of the new outreach to India building on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s US visit last September that will be followed by President Barack Obama’s upcoming visit for the Republic Day celebrations, it will be the first time that the United States joins the annual Gujarat event as a partner country.“The Secretary will join leading US business executives and innovators at the summit to highlight the critical role that US technology plays in supporting sustainable economic growth across India and the Indo-Pacific region, as well as strengthening trade and investment between the two countries,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement.
Although Kerry is expected to proceed to Islamabad as well in the course of this visit to participate in the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, Psaki’s statement made no reference to it, except to say: “Secretary Kerry may travel to additional countries, but any other stops would be announced separately.Faced with further questions on American aid to Pakistan under the Kerry-lugar-Berman Act, Psaki told reporters that the Obama administration has “certified” Pakistan only once during the fiscal year 2011. Other disbursements have been made by employing the national waiver route in lieu of certification.
Apart from the KlB Act, Pakistan has been receiving US aid through other avenues as well, such as Appropriations Funding, the last of which was in September 2014. “At that time, a certification or waiver for a broad range of topics was required. After reviewing the full range of criteria required by law, the Department of State did not certify, and instead employed the national interest waiver in that case, as well provided by Congress in the legislation,” Psaki pointed out. In terms of total funding for fiscal 2013 that actually began to come off a congressional hold only in September 2014, Congress appropriated approximately $1.2 billion in assistance to Pakistan. “FY 2014 funding for civilian assistance programs, as I mentioned yesterday, has not yet been notified,” Psaki added.