Indian advocacy group seeks audit of US aid to Pakistan

Expressing concern over the tripling of American civilian aid to Pakistan, an Indian American advocacy group has asked the US Congress to have an audit of the previous financial support given to Islamabad, before the disbursement of the new grants.

The Kerry-Lugar Bill, which doles out $7.5 billion to Pakistan in the next five years, was passed by both the Chamber of the US Congress House of Representatives and the Senate. The bill is now before US President Barack Obama to sign it into a law. The mandatory 10 days period expires this week.

The US-India Political Action Committee (USINPAC) said the US Congress has passed the Kerry-Lugar bill without first establishing accountability and transparency of Pakistani expenditure of US aid funding, past and present.

USINPAC chairman Sanjay Puri said that the Obama Administration still has no real ability to track down how the money being given to Pakistan would be spent.

The Indian American advocacy group alleged that the United States has failed to gain access for questioning to AQ Khan, the disgraced 'Father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb'. Khan recently boasted about providing nuclear technology for military use to Iran and North Korea, it said in a statement.

The United States has also failed to investigate Pakistan’s proliferation of nuclear weapons technology to rogue regimes such as North Korea and Iran; and failed to audit the safeguards and security of Pakistan’s nuclear assets from seizure and control by terrorist groups.