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US President Barack Obama has signed the Kerry-Lugar Pakistan aid bill on Thursday without making any changes.
''As President Obama said on March 27, the United States wants to engage Pakistan on the basis of a strategic partnership, grounded in support for Pakistan's democratic institutions and the Pakistani people,'' the White House said in a statement following the signing. The bill provides for $ 7.5 billion aid to Pakistan over five years.
''This Act formalizes that partnership, based on a shared commitment to improving the living conditions of the people of Pakistan through sustainable economic development, strengthening democracy and the rule of law, and combating the extremism that threatens Pakistan and the United States,'' the statement added.
A ''joint explanatory statement'' has been issued by the U.S lawmakers which that will ''accompany'' the bill for pacifying a worried Pakistan. The lawmakers have also insisted that the bill does not make any enforcement on Pakistan.
''The legislation does not seek in any way to compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty, impinge on Pakistan’s national security interests, or micromanage any aspect of Pakistani military or civilian operations,'' Senator John Kerry, who is co-author of the bill with Congressman Howard Berman, mentioning that Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi is also supporting them.
