The US government has announced a major new aid
package for Pakistan, with hundreds of millions of dollars to be spent
on projects in Pakistan's energy and water sectors.
Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, announced the $500m
package at the start of a day-long "strategic dialogue" in Islamabad
between American and Pakistani officials.
The money - part of a five-year, $7.5bn aid package approved
by the US congress last year - will support a total of 26 projects.
Monday's meeting is the second such dialogue
between the US and Pakistan.
The first, held
in Washington in March, ended with promises of better co-operation
between the two countries. Clinton said on Monday that the meetings
would help to end the "trust deficit" between the two countries.
"We know that there is a perception held by too
many Pakistanis that America's commitment to them begins and ends with
security," Clinton said. "But security is just one piece of this vital
partnership."
Dams and hospitals
Electricity is one of Pakistan's top priorities. A large chunk of the
new US aid will be spent on new power supplies, including the Gomal Zam
dam in Pakistan's Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, and several
hydroelectric projects in Balochistan province.
Clinton said the US would also fund several solar and wind energy
projects.
Pakistan's electric grid is chronically overtaxed, with hours-long
blackouts common across the country. The Pakistan Electric Power Company
reported earlier this week that demand for
electricity outstripped supply by nearly 5,000 megawatts.
US aid will also be used to renovate three hospitals, in Karachi,
Lahore and Jacobabad, to launch several agricultural programmes, and to
expand access to clean water in Pakistan.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the Pakistani foreign minister, said the aid
package would bring important benefits for Pakistan.
"This relationship is beyond security," Qureshi said. "This is a
relationship that improves our purchasing power, our quality of life."
The Haqqani network
But security concerns remain a fundamental part of the US-Pakistan
relationship.
Clinton confirmed that the US plans to designate the so-called
Haqqani network as a "foreign terrorist organisation." The network is
based in Pakistan, and considered the deadliest threat to US and Nato
forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's intelligence services have long been accused of having
close links to the Haqqani network. Qureshi declined to comment directly
on the US plan to act against the group.
"The US wants Pakistan to disassociate itself from the Haqqani group,
and to the extent that it can and it will, to go after [them],"
Mosharraf Zaidi, a Pakistani journalist, told Al Jazeera. "But there is a
very wide gulf between the two countries on this issue."
Clinton is scheduled to meet General Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistani
army chief, before departing Islamabad.
Monday's "strategic dialogue" follows Clinton's meetings on
Sunday with Asif Ali Zardari, the Pakistani president, and Yousuf
Raza Gilani, the prime minister. Clinton also attended the signing
ceremony for an Afghan-Pakistan
transit agreement, which will allow Afghan goods bound for India to
travel through Pakistan.
After leaving Islamabad, Clinton will travel to Kabul, where donors
will meet on Tuesday for the ninth international conference on
Afghanistan in nine years.
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
