US Congress links arms support with N-aid

The US had ppledged an assistance package to Pak, which includes 300mn dollars total military aid per year for the next five years.

A recent US Congress report has proposed that the Bush Administration should link the offer of high valued weapons systems to Pakistan to Islamabad extending greater cooperation in dismantling Dr. AQ Khan's nuclear proliferation network.

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"The United States might insist on the following actions by Pakistan as a price for obtaining high valued military equipment especially weapons systems that are not directly related to counter terrorism cooperation such as F-16 aircraft, anti-tank weapons systems and other weapons systems that Pakistan is seeking to offset or exceed Indian military capability,” said a Congressional research report released last week.

Authored by Asian affairs specialists and arms trade specialists of the US Congress research arm, the report suggests that the supply of such high valued weapons systems to Pakistan should be weighed against the cost it would incur in terms of foreign policy commitment of the US in South Asia.

"In this case, the cost to the United States is not just the dollar cost of the weapons system but also the inevitable complication for relations with India,” it added.

The US Congressional Research Department regularly throws out such reports, which are not part of the official thought process, but these reports do influence the thinking of the US Congress where weapons sales finally go for approval, reports The Nation.

The US has promised an assistance package to Pakistan, which includes 300 million dollars total military assistance per year for the next five years.