Gilani says he won't accept harmful terms for US aid

Islamabad: Pakistan will not accept any conditions harmful to its interests in return for aid from the US, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Saturday.

As a sovereign, self-respecting state "we will not agree to any conditions on aid which are against the interests of the country", Gilani said while talking to media in his hometown Multan.

He did not elaborate, but Pakistani ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani said in Washington on Wednesday that the US should not attach "intrusive" conditions to a $7.5 billion (Dh27.5 billion) package promised over five years.

Haqqani spoke about the issue at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank."Once again, there's talk of 'fixing' Afghanistan and Pakistan. Please do not fix us," he reportedly said while appearing together with the Afghan ambassador.

Haqqani said Pakistanis were very concerned about an "unbridled indictment" of their security services, giving no credit for the efforts that have been made.

"We lost a lot of people along the border with Afghanistan. We have become a major victim of terrorism. More Pakistanis have died as a result of terrorist incidents in the last two years than in any other country."

The ambassador said investments in Pakistan's schools and infrastructure would be worth the money.

Pakistan and Afghanistan deserve more than "some failed insurance company or some car company whose achievement is that they couldn't make cars that they could sell", Haqqani remarked, in reference to the US doling out billions of dollars to domestic corporations.

He urged the US Congress to revisit the aid bill and remove some of the recommended conditions.

Pakistan, he said, was aware of the importance of using the money accountably and effectively. "But there is difference between accountability and intrusiveness. And that is something that needs to be understood."

The ambassador said Pakistan would ask for its own 'Marshall Plan' from its allies at the Friends of Pakistan forum in Tokyo on April 17.