US debates Pakistan aid tied to results

Updated June 26, 2008 14:22:09

A senior US Democrat Senator says the US must pressure Pakistan to do more to counter terrorism. [Reuters]

The United States is considering a new aid strategy for Pakistan that will triple unconditional non-security aid to $US1.5 billion annually but tie security funding to counterrorism performance.

US lawmakers says in coming weeks, bipartisan legislation will be introduced in the US Senate laying the foundation for the new approach.

Senior Democratic Senator, Joseph Biden, who chaired a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the new strategy, proposed that the central elements of the new plan include tripling non-security aid to $1.5b annually over a 10-year period.

"A significant increase in non-security aid, guaranteed for a long period, would help persuade the Pakistani populace that America is not a fair-weather friend but an all-weather friend; it would also help persuade Pakistan's leaders that America is a reliable ally," he said.

But Mr Biden, in a controversial move, also wanted US security aid, around $US1b annually at present, to be tied to results.

This, he said, would "push the Pakistani military to finally crush" the Al-Qaeda and Taliban militant groups believed based along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

"It's not clear we're getting our money's worth.

"We should be willing to spend more if we get better returns -- and less if we don't," he said.

President George W Bush's administration has given general support to the plan.

"While we do not agree on every point in the current version of the proposed legislation, we welcome this initiative and feel strongly that a new, bipartisan commitment to partnership with Pakistan is crucial," said Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher.