The US has quietly decided to release more than $1.6 billion in military and economic aid to Pakistan that was suspended when relations between the two countries disintegrated over the covert raid that killed Osama bin Laden and deadly US airstrikes against Pakistani soldiers.
Officials and congressional aides said ties have improved enough to allow the money to flow again.
Congress has cleared most of the money, and it should start moving early next year, officials and congressional aides said.
Over three weeks in July and August, the State Department and the US Agency for International Development informed Congress that it planned to restart a wide range of assistance, mostly dedicated to helping Pakistan fight terrorism. The US sees that effort sees as essential as it withdraws troops from neighbouring Afghanistan next year and tries to leave a stable government behind.
Other funds focus on a range of items, including help for Pakistani law enforcement and a multibillion-dollar dam in disputed territory.
The State Department told Congress that the US hadn’t conducted any significant military financing for Pakistan since the “challenging and rapidly changing period of US-Pakistan relations” in 2011 and 2012. The department stressed the importance now of enhancing Pakistan’s anti-terrorism capabilities through better communications, night vision capabilities, maritime security and precision striking with F16 fighter jets.
The department told Congress on July 25 that it would spend $295 million to help Pakistan’s military. Twelve days later it announced $386 million more. A pair of notifications arriving on Aug. 13 and worth $705 million centered on helping Pakistani troops and air forces operating in the militant hotbeds of western Pakistan, and other counterinsurgency efforts.
The administration had until the end of September to provide Congress with “reprogramming” plans at the risk of forfeiting some of the money, which spans federal budgets from 2009-2013.
State Department officials said the renewal of aid wasn’t determined by any single event. But they noted a confluence of signs of greater cooperation, from Pakistan’s improved commitment to stamping out explosives manufacturing to its recent counterterror offensive in areas bordering Afghanistan that have served as a primary sanctuary for the Taliban.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to talk publicly about the aid relationship ahead of Sharif’s visit. They said the money would start reaching Pakistan in 2014 but take several years to disburse fully.
In its notifications to Congress, the department described fighting terrorism as a mutual concern but said little about the will of Pakistan’s government, army and intelligence services to crack down on militant groups that often have operated with impunity in Pakistan while wreaking havoc on US and international forces across the border in Afghanistan.
