The United States on Friday announced that it would provide a whopping $2.29 billion as military aid to Pakistan to bolster its army's anti-terror capabilities, notwithstanding India's concerns that Islamabad has been diverting a portion of such assistance against it.
Applauding Pakistan's role in the war against terror, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington had “no stronger partner when it comes to counter terrorism” than Islamabad.
Ms. Clinton made the remarks at the opening of the third U.S.-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue with her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
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Of the new aid, $2 billion comes under the foreign military financing programme and $29 million is being given under the international military education and training funding.
Ms. Clinton said a request would be made to Congress for the aid to be made available for the period from 2012 to 2016. This would complement the five-year $7.5 billion in civilian aid to Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar Bill.
This is for the first time that the U.S. has made a multi-year commitment of international military education and training.
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“Additional dialogue”
Meanwhile, the U.S. has rejected fresh calls by Pakistan seeking Washington's intervention on the Kashmir issue. The U.S. made it clear that it was for India and Pakistan to find a resolution through “additional dialogue.”
The American position was affirmed after Mr. Qureshi insisted earlier in the day that the U.S. play an active role in the resolution of Kashmir and other disputes in the South Asian region.
“We recognise the importance of Kashmir to both countries. We absolutely want to see tensions eased and ultimately a resolution to the situation in Kashmir,” State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said at a news conference at the Foreign Press Center here on Friday.
“That we believe needs to come through additional dialogue between Pakistan and India. We have not been asked by both countries to play a particular role. But this is the reason why, for a number of reasons we continue to encourage further dialogue between India and Pakistan,” he said.
Mr. Qureshi was responding to a question at an event jointly organised by the prestigious Brookings Institute and Asia Society.
His comments came hours after the third round of the Strategic Dialogue.
Contending that Pakistan was “deeply interested” in a peaceful and stable South Asia, he claimed that the prospect, however, “is in danger again by the recent events in Kashmir.”
He said: “any person of conscience cannot ignore the use of brute force against defenceless Kashmiri youth. In this unfolding tragedy, over 100 Kashmiris have lost their lives in the past three months, many of them teenagers.”
His comments have come despite the U.S.' repeated assertion that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and it has to be solved by the two countries.