The United States has refuted Pakistan’s claim that the US Congress has cleared a $532 million civilian aid package after a request to the effect from the Obama administration.
It has also rejected inferences in the Indian media that Secretary of State John Kerry has given Islamabad a clean chit with a formal certification that it is taking action against a host of terrorist groups including lashkar-e-Tayyeba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.“Congress has not been notified of a request (for funding Pakistan under the Kerry-lugar-Berman Act). Congress has not approved a request,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki said when asked by reporters on the twin issues of aid package and certification.
last week, following US Ambassador Richard Olson’s meeting with Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, the Pakistan Government had put out a statement that spoke about Congressional notification of the $532 million aid package, adding Olson’s discussions covered break-up of assistance under various heads. Psaki made it clear that Congress has not approved any new funding under the Kerry-lugar-Berman Act to Pakistan since 2013. She, however, did not rule out any future funding, remarking: “I’m not going to get ahead of any requests we’ll make, and obviously there’ll be additional funding, I’m sure.”
On the controversial dimension of certification, Psaki straightaway admitted that in the past, the State Department has employed the national interest waiver provided for in the legislation itself since all the criteria set for Pakistan had not been met. “We obviously have that ability (of using a waiver in lieu of certification) in the future as well,” she added. The Kerry-lugar-Berman legislation, formally known as The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, empowers release of up to $1.5 billion non-military US aid to Pakistan annually for a period of five years — from 2010 to 2014.
Pakistan has been pressing for further tranches of civilian aid, asserting that only about half of the promised $7.5 billion for the five-year period beginning 2010 has actually been disbursed thus far. Asked about the flare-up of Indo-Pak tensions in the wake of the shelling across the border, Psaki said: “We certainly remain concerned and watch over tensions along the border, and we encourage dialogue between the countries.”