Forex: Passage Of Bill Demonstrates U.S. Commitment To Pakistan: Kerry

(RTTNews) - Wednesday, top American Senator John Kerry welcomed the passage of a Congressional bill to triple non-military aid to Pakistan, saying this affirms United States' long term commitment to Islamabad, reports say.
Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a newly-negotiated version of the Kerry-Lugar Pakistan aid bill that would triple the non-military aid to Pakistan to USD 7.5 billion in the next five years.
"This bill reaffirms the depth of America's long-term commitment to the people and Government of Pakistan," Senator John Kerry said soon after the bill was passed by the House of Representatives by a voice vote.
The voice vote came a week after Senate approved the measure through a process known as "Unanimous Consent"--where the Senate doesn't actually vote on the bill, but nobody raises any objections, so it goes through--to pass the measure.
The final legislation passed by both the chambers of the U.S. Congress was based on a compromise between bills passed earlier by the Senate and House. The bicameral legislation now goes to U.S. President Barack Obama for his signature.
Welcoming the passage of the measure, Congressman Howard L Berman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee stressed on the need to forge a true strategic partnership with Pakistan and its people, strengthen its democratic government, and work to make it a source of stability in a volatile region.
Warning that terrorists currently sheltered in Pakistan's lawless hinterlands are plotting to attack the United States, he said this legislation helps give Pakistan the tools to defeat the Al-Qaida.
Recipe For Disappointment And Disillusionment: Gary Ackerman
However, Congressman Gary Ackerman said that the bicameral legislation, which triples non-military aid to Pakistan and softens the conditions on Islamabad, is a recipe for disappointment and disillusionment.
Stating that U.S. success will depend chiefly on reforms taken in Pakistan by Pakistanis, Ackerman said he sees little in the bill that provides any assurance that such changes are on the way, adding that Washington is again choosing to be Islamabad's patron rather than its partner.
The bill, initially introduced in the Senate by Joe Biden, then in the capacity as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its ranking member, Senator Dick Lugar, has seen several changes and is now called Kerry-Lugar bill as it has been re-introduced by Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Lugar.