Washington:
A powerful Congressional panel on Thursday gave approval to a controversial act tripling US
non-military aid to Pakistan, but imposed tough conditions that include prevention of "cross border attacks into neighbouring countries" by Islamabad.
Approving for passage, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement (PEACE) Act 2009, the House Foreign Affairs Committee also sought to bar Pakistan military or its intelligence agency from supporting any extremists and terrorist group.
It also wants Islamabad to provide "direct access to Pakistani nationals" connected with proliferation networks.
The bill will now go to the floor of the House of Representatives for passage.
The Act, introduced by Howard L Berman, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee on April 2, has deleted the word "India" from the original bill apparently at the suggestion of the Obama Administration because Pakistan, in particular the army and the ISI had raised strong objections to it.
Now under the newer version of the bill, the US President is required to give a determination to the Congress every year about the progress the Government of Pakistan has made with regard to "ceasing support, including by any elements within the Pakistan military or its intelligence agency, to extremist and terrorist groups, particularly to any group that has conducted attacks against US or coalition forces in Afghanistan, or against the territory or people of neighbouring countries."
The original bill had imposed conditions that Pakistan would not let its territory to be used for launching terrorist attacks against India and would also not support any group that indulges in terrorist activities against India.
The version of the Berman bill which was approved by the voice vote on Thursday, following about an hour of debate, replaces India with the word neighbour.
Congressional observers said this means almost the same, but word "India" had to be deleted because Obama Administration told the lawmakers that this could be counterproductive to their overall objective given that the Pak establishment is allergic to it.
While in the original bill the US President was asked to give a presidential determination about the progress made by Pakistan in preventing cross border attacks into India, the PEACE Act passed by the House seeks presidential determination on the progress made by Islamabad in "preventing cross border attacks into neighbouring countries."
However, the bill empowers the President to waive any provision or condition in the PEACE Act in the national interest of the United States.
The PEACE Act triples US economic assistance to Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year, with a particular focus on strengthening democratic institutions, promoting economic development and improving Pakistan's public education system, with an emphasis on access for women and girls.
The bill also establishes a permanent Pakistan Democracy and Prosperity Fund for non-military assistance, which demonstrates America's long-term commitment to Pakistan's democratic future.
"To ensure that US assistance is truly benefiting the people of Pakistan, the legislation requires rigorous oversight and auditing. It establishes a set of principles that should govern US-Pakistan ties, including the actions that the two countries should take to maintain a robust, relevant and lasting relationship," Berman said after the passage of the PEACE Act.
The Bill also authorises military assistance to help Pakistan disrupt and defeat Al-Qaida and insurgent elements, and requires that the vast majority of such assistance be focused on critical counterinsurgency and counter-terrorism efforts.
In addition, the bill requires that all military assistance flow through the democratically elected Government of Pakistan.