US says aid to Pakistan to meet threat to three nations
October 24th, 2009 - 1:30 pm ICT by IANS
By Arun Kumar
Washington, Oct 24 (IANS) The United States says it views India as an important strategic partner and is providing aid to Pakistan in an open and transparent manner to meet the common threat of militant religious extremism to all the three nations.
“Our assistance to Pakistan is designed to meet a common threat,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters Friday when asked if the US was in touch with India regarding the new $2.3 billion military aid package for Pakistan.
“This is a threat not only to Pakistan, but also to the US, and we would argue to India as well, and that’s the threat of militant religious extremism.”
“And so our entire package is designed to help Pakistan in the spirit of partnership to meet this challenge,” he said when asked how the US would ensure that the new military aid to Islamabad would not be diverted for use against India as in the past.
“And our relationship with India is strategic and important, and we are conducting our assistance with Pakistan in a very open and transparent way in general - with the public, with the media, and with important strategic partners like India,” Kelly said.
The Pakistan aid package included in the $680 billion defence spending bill for 2010 would among other things require Obama administration reporting every six months that Islamabad is not diverting military aid intended to help fight the Taliban to build defences against India.
Asked how the US planned to balance military aid to Pakistan and India, the official said: “Our assistance to Pakistan is primarily designed to meet this common threat, a threat to all of our partners and democracies in the region. It’s not designed against any other neighbour in the region.”
The spokesman said he did not have details of a military package for India that may come up for discussion during Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to US Nov 24, which would be the first state visit of the Obama administration.
“As far as the details of a military package for India, I don’t have the - I don’t know what the scope of this package is, so I can’t really comment on it, but our cooperation with India is important, and as I say, it’s strategic,” Kelly said.
The official also could not say what would be on the agenda of US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke when he visits India towards the end of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to Pakistan.
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