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Conditional Love: The Kerry-Lugar Bill

By Zahid Hussain 29 September 2009 3 Comments
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kerry-lugarAfter much delay the US Senate has finally passed the Kerry-Lugar Bill providing Pakistan up to 1.5 billion dollars a year in aid for next five years. The bill will now go for approval to the Congress before the expected aid could flow into Pakistan. The government of President Zardari has touted the passage of the bill as a great achievement of his administration.

But the stringent conditionality attached to the aid package has raised several questions about its long-term implications for the country’s sovereignty. The aid is conditional to Islamabad’s adherence to a policy framework drawn by the US administration. It encompasses almost every sphere from foreign to domestic policies. According to the bill, the Secretary of State will have to certify every six months that Pakistan has been strictly following the guidelines.

It is true that foreign aid does not come without strings, but such intrusive conditionality indicates a high degree of mistrust of Pakistan, despite it being a key US ally in the region. The aid is linked to Pakistan’s “ceasing support, including by any elements within the Pakistan military or its intelligence agency, to extremist and terrorist groups, particularly to any group that has conducted attacks against United States or coalition forces in Afghanistan, or against the territory of neigbouring countries.”

This clause of the bill presupposes that Pakistani military and its intelligence are patronising the terrorist groups. It is almost putting into dock the military, which is the frontline force in the battle against terrorism. It is almost putting the military into an adversarial position. Does the Zardari government accept this US view about the country’s security agencies? Where does it put Pakistani security forces if the government accepts this conditionality? It is certainly going to create a huge wedge between the civil and military leadership.

It also requires Pakistan to “dismantle terrorist bases in Quetta and Muridke and taking actions when provided with intelligence about high-level terrorist targets.” It again presupposes that such bases are operating in those towns implicitly with the connivance of intelligence agencies. Does the Zardari government agree with this premise? Accepting this conditional aid would give the US administration a free hand in determining what policies Pakistan should pursue. The Kerry-Lugar bill is a recipe for disaster and would further widen the gulf between the so-called allies. It would lead to a master-and-client relationship, completely compromising Pakistan’s political sovereignty.

Pakistani award-winning journalist and writer Zahid Hussain is a senior editor with Newsline and a correspondent for The Times of London, Newsweek and The Wall Street Journal. He has also covered Pakistan and Afghanistan for several other international publications, including the Associated Press (AP) and The Economist. His book Frontline Pakistan: The Struggle With Militant Islam has won widespread acclaim as a seminal text on the subject.


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3 Comments »

  • Qindeel said:

    Pride hath a fall. I am sick of harping on the same tune. When it is made clear that the certain conditions imposed on Pakistan were withdrawn as it was not acceptable to the Pakistani government then what is mean of scoffing at truth. I think we should make a clean breast of everything which goes in the interest of Pakistan. If we look at the significance of the Kerry Lugar Bill then we realise how much it supports Pakistan. We must not be a short-tempered and lose head. In short, government in the teeth of opposition has begun well, which means have done. Conspirators are putting common men on the horns of a dilemma to destabilise government by spreading rumours. We should make them feel out

    # 30 September 2009 at 10:13 pm
  • paki said:

    why would any one give you that much money and expect nothing in return. and Paki government/SF are the biggest blackmailers, even five years down the line after we get 7.5 billion dollars there would be new Muridkes and turbat/bhawalpur and God-knows-what shuras which will need another trillion dollar to fight. u would be stupid to kill a milking cow. Mush tricked US into becoming a front-line state and Zardari is far ahead of him cause Mush never refuted what he promised but with Mr Zar its a whole different matter. May Allah help America in dealing with Pakistanis.

    # 3 October 2009 at 10:29 pm
  • Musaafir said:

    This bill is not some form of charity that is being handed out to Pakistan. It is payment for a service that Pakistan is expected to perform to further the interests of the US in the region. Kerry and/or Lugar, even though representing uncle Sam in this endeavor, are not the mamay (uncles) of the Pakistani people, and hence do not have the best interest of Pakistanis in their caring hearts. They have devised a deal which is a payment for the blood and tears, the people of Pakistan are spilling for America’s strategic interests. Nothing less and nothing more.

    Read more at: http://www.raastah.com

    # 19 October 2009 at 1:11 pm