Pakistan has received billions of dollars in reimbursement for its support of US-led counter-terrorism operations, while US Congress has appropriated billions of dollars to pay Pakistan for its support.

According to an updated version of a Congressional Research Service (CRS) report on Pakistan, “As of September 2006, a total of $6.64 billion had been appropriated for FY2002-FY2007 Defence Department spending for coalition support payments to Pakistan and other cooperating nations. Pentagon documents indicate that disbursements to Islamabad account for the great majority of these funds: about $3.6 billion for operations from January 2002 through August 2005, an amount roughly equal to one-quarter of Pakistan’s total military expenditures during that period. The Defence Department Appropriations Act, 2007 would allow that up to $900 million in Pentagon funds be used for FY2007 reimbursements.”

Pakistan is among the world’s leading recipients of US aid, obtaining more than $3.5 billion in direct US assistance for FY2002-FY2006, including $1.5 billion in security-related aid.

The CRS report says US concerns regarding Pakistan include regional terrorism, Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, weapon proliferation, the ongoing Kashmir problem and Pakistan-India tensions, human rights protection and economic development. It recalls that a US-Pakistan relationship marked by periods of both cooperation and discord was transformed by the September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US and the ensuing enlistment of Pakistan as a key ally in US-led counter-terrorism efforts.

The report adds, “Top US officials regularly praise Islamabad for its ongoing cooperation, although doubts exist about Islamabad’s commitment to some core US interests. Pakistan is identified as a base for terrorist groups and their supporters operating in Kashmir, India, and Afghanistan.”

... contd.