Clinton Announces Aid Package for Pak
With an aim to defuse anti-American sentiment and to enhance anti-terrorism efforts, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced a raft of aid projects for Pakistan, said media reports.
Arriving in Islamabad on Sunday en route to a donor conference in Kabul, Clinton called for ‘additional measures’ by Pakistan to combat terror groups on its soil, which are believed to be behind attacks on the United States and Afghanistan, reports said.
Opening talks with Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Clinton said that she hoped the aid projects, focused on water and energy needs in the country, would ‘lay the foundations for an enduring partnership’ with Pakistan, said reports.
It may be mentioned that the aid projects include two energy dams, various drinking water and irrigation projects, as well as the building of health centres and schemes to improve agriculture and private sector income.
They are part of a five-year 7.5-billion-dollar funding approved by the US Congress last year and a key part of the effort by the US administration to engage more fully with Pakistan, which has long seen Washington as interested only in securing its military cooperation in the fight against terrorism.
“We know that there is a perception held by too many Pakistanis that America?s commitment to them begins and ends with security,” Clinton was quoted as saying.
“We have not done a good enough job of connecting our partnership with concrete improvements in the lives of Pakistanis. With this dialogue, we are working to change that.”
Qureshi hailed the ‘transformational phase’ in relations between the two countries during his remarks ahead of talks with Clinton.
“We’re committed to work together to build a stable, broad-based and and enduring partnership…. The world has a vital stake in the success of our efforts,” he was quoted as saying.
(Based on internet reports)
