US seeks $2b in military aid for Pakistan

Washington: The United States announced $2 billion in military aid for Pakistan on Friday as the two countries sought to dispel doubts about Islamabad's commitment to uprooting Islamist insurgents from safe havens on its soil.

"The United States has no stronger partner when it comes to counterterrorism efforts against the extremists who threaten us both than Pakistan," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in announcing plans to ask Congress for a five-year aid package.

The military aid, which would help put Pakistan's war planning on a more stable footing, would complement a $7.5 billion multiyear package of civilian assistance already cleared by US lawmakers.

Clinton said the administration would also ask for $27 million to fund military education and training in Pakistan, one of the largest recipients of US foreign military aid after Israel and Egypt.

The aid package, announced at the third round of the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, was a top issue for Pakistanis attending the three-day session.

It helped balance the fact President Barack Obama plans to bypass Islamabad next month when he travels to rival India. Although Obama has promised to visit Pakistan in 2011, the move could be seen as a slight.

"(Pakistanis) are very aware that the president is going to India next month and they want to demonstrate to their people that there is a strong US-Pakistani connection," said Stephanie Sanok, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Michael O'Hanlon, an analyst at the Brookings Institution think tank, said the package represented "reasonable, solid, positive incremental progress, but nothing game-changing."

The strategic dialogue came as Washington and Islamabad work to ease strained relations caused by US pressure for Pakistan to move more aggressively against insurgent safe havens, and a cross-border incursion that killed two Pakistani border guards.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi rejected critics who argue that Islamabad's heart is not in the fight against the militants, some of whom are believed to have shadowy ties with Pakistani intelligence services.