Clarification to be part of KL Bill: Kerry

WASHINGTON: Pakistan's foreign minister said Wednesday he would return to his country satisfied that a multibillion-dollar U.S. aid package does not hurt Pakistan's sovereignty.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi said U.S. assurances would “allay the fears of Pakistan.'' U.S. lawmakers, however, have no plans to change the bill, which awaits President Barack Obama's signature into law.

A week after he dismissed complaints in Islamabad about the aid bill, Qureshi made a rushed return visit to Washington on Tuesday amid angry cries in Pakistan that the bill is an attempt to interfere with the military and civilian government.

Democratic Sen. John Kerry, a co-sponsor of the bill and head of the Foreign Relations Committee, told reporters after meeting with Qureshi for the second time in two days that a statement attempting to clarify points in the bill would be entered into the congressional record.

Qureshi called the explanatory statement “historic.'' But lawmakers frequently put comments and documents, even congratulatory notes for local sports teams, into the congressional record. They do not have the force of law.

The bill, Kerry said, shows the strong U.S. commitment, even in times of economic hardship, to the well-being of Pakistan's people, and is not an attempt to compromise its sovereignty “or micromanage any aspect of Pakistan's military or civilian operations.''

“Everybody is on the same page, and we are very clear about the intentions of the legislation,'' Kerry said of Qureshi's hastily arranged meetings Tuesday and Wednesday with senior lawmakers and Obama administration officials.

The bill would provide Pakistan with $1.5 billion a year over the next five years to spend on democratic, economic and social development programs. But Pakistan's military has objected to language that links money for counterterrorism assistance to Pakistan cracking down on militancy and meeting other conditions.

The legislation also requires the U.S. Secretary of State to report to Congress every six months on whether Pakistan's weak, U.S.-backed civilian government maintains effective control over the military, including its budgets, the chain of command and top promotions link..