Islamabad/ Washington: Pakistan has told America it has the choice of “reviewing its options” after President Barack Obama warned aid to the country would depend on its cooperation in the war on terror.
"Pakistan hopes that Obama will be more patient while dealing with Pakistan. We will review all options, if Obama does not adopt a positive policy towards us," Pakistan's ambassador to the US Hussain Huqqani told Geo TV in Islamabad.
According to the envoy, "Bush was more inclined to Pakistan. Obama should hear us out. He must pay attention to other factors in the region."
Speaking about Pakistan's role in the war against terror, Huqqani said that Pakistan was an ally of the US and participating in the war against terror was in its own interest.
The envoy's comments came hours after Obama unveiled his policy agenda.
The new Obama administration has told Pakistan that it is accountable for the “security in the border region with Afghanistan” and the financial aid it receives would depend upon its performance in the fight against terrorism.
"(President Barack) Obama and (Vice President Joe) Biden will increase non-military aid to Pakistan and hold them accountable for security in the border region with Afghanistan," the White House said in its foreign policy agenda document released after Obama took over as President on Tuesday.
Biden, as the chairperson of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, had introduced legislation in the US Senate listing out terms of financial aid to Pakistan.
Co-authored jointly by the Republican Senator, Richard Lugar, the legislation proposes to triple non-military aid to Pakistan in the next five years.
The legislation authorises $7.5 billion over five years in aid that can be used for development purposes, such as building schools, roads and clinics.
The bill also calls for greater accountability on security assistance, to improve Pakistani counter-terrorism capabilities and ensure more effective efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
The foreign policy agenda of the Obama administration on Pakistan is in tune with the well-known policies of Biden, which was also echoed by the Secretary of State-designate, Hillary Clinton during her nomination hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee early this month.
As the key points of the Obama's foreign policy agenda revealed yesterday indicated, the new administration is expected to follow the key elements of Biden-Lugar proposals introduced last year.
In lieu of $1.5 billion of non-military aid to Pakistan, Islamabad would be required to making concerted efforts to prevent al-Qaeda and associated terrorist groups from operating in its territory and make concerted efforts to prevent the Taliban from using its territory as a sanctuary to launch attacks within Afghanistan.
Islamabad would also need to ensure that it does not materially interfere in the political or judicial processes of the country, the legislation says.
(With inputs from IANS and PTI.)
Comments
0 comment