Pakistan has decided to raise the issue of payment of the civilian aid package worth $532 million, which is to be paid for 2013, and includes new assistance for the 2014-15 period. The discussion is to take place with US Secretary of State John Kerry.
“Under Kerry-Lugar-Berman (KLB) bill, which came to practice in 2010, and is about to conclude in September 2015, $7.6 billion was promised to be paid in five years and $4.3 billion was paid until now. $2.4 billion of the promised amount is yet to come, that is on agenda to be discussed,” a senior official in the Economic Affairs Division told Online news agency on the condition of anonymity.
When approached, Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasneem Alam refused to go into detail, nevertheless she said, “All bilateral issues would be discussed.”
The officials explained that a new package for financial assistance would also be discussed as the KLB act is ending.
“Pakistan is looking for assistance for energy resource development, economic growth and other issues. We will see what is feasible when these issues are discussed with Kerry,” they added. “The release of $3.3 billion including $532 million for civilian assistance would be discussed in detail.”
Initially it was decided that $1.5 billion per annum would be paid to Pakistan.
“We, along with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will be raising the issue with the US delegation led by Kerry, who is supposed to visit Pakistan next week,” the officials said.
The aid package became controversial when US Ambassador Richard Oslon reportedly told Finance Minister Ishaq Dar that the Obama administration is working on the assistance. However, the US State Department stated that Washington would use a national interest waiver to provide financial assistance to Pakistan later this year.
Washington denied it later, which was probably a diplomatic move because top US officials are supposed to be visiting South Asia this month.
President Barack Obama would be in New Delhi this month for India’s Republic Day celebrations at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and John Kerry would also be visiting the region.
Spokesperson Jen Psaki some days ago told reporters in Washington that the US issued a full certification to Pakistan only once, in FY2011, stating that Pakistan had met the requirements for doing so.
In 2013, the administration reviewed the certification for the fiscal year 2014 appropriations funding. That review and subsequent waiver were exercised in July 2014.
To release the funds the US administration needed a certification or a national interest waiver, the State Department said.
Meanwhile, sources in the Foreign Ministry explained that the Pak-India tension over firing along the LoC and the Working Boundary would also be discussed. The US would try to influence both New Delhi and Islamabad to resolve the situation. Kerry would also meet Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz.
