Zardari likely to visit US in November as more military assistance pours in

Pakistani president Asif Zardari may visit the United States next month to firm up Washington’s support for the trembling democratic set-up in the country. Zardari’s decision came as the US on Friday announced it will provide a whopping $2.29 billion in new military aid to bolster the Pakistani army’s anti-terror capabilities, notwithstanding India’s concerns that Islamabad has been diverting a portion of such assistance against it.

Obama had extended an invitation to Zardari during a meeting with a Pakistani delegation at his official residence in Washington on Wednesday. The US president may visit Pakistan in March 2011.

Pakistan’s ambassador to Washington Husain Haqqani said Obama’s decision to drop in during a meeting of the core group of visiting Pakistani officials with incoming US national securityadviser Tom Donilon was not pre-announced but was pre-planned.

Haqqani described it as the “best meeting” between a US president and a Pakistani delegation, during which Obama conveyed his unequivocal support to Pakistan and its democracy, besides extending an invitation to his Pakistani counterpart to visit Washington. He has been quoted by Pakistani media as saying that Zardari may travel to Washington by November-end to discuss issues of mutual importance, including a demand to sign a civil nuclear deal with Pakistan on the pattern of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal.

Obama not only wants increased Pakistani military operations in North Waziristan and Balochistan, but increased operational flexibility for US-led special forces operating near Pakistan’s borders.

Applauding Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said in Washington that the US has “no stronger partner when it comes to counter-terrorism” than Islamabad.

She made the remarks at the opening of the third US-Pak strategic dialogue with her Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The US will provide $2.29 billion to Pakistan, of which $2 billion is under the foreign military financing programme and $29 million is being given under the international military education and training funding.

Clinton said a request will be made to Congress for the aid to be made available for 2012-2016.

It will complement the five-year $7.5 billion in civilian aid to Pakistan under the Kerry-Lugar bill, she said.
—With agency inputs