The only material reference is for the US Secretary of State to certify that the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed are not operating on Pakistan territory. This is already required by the United Nations and US law.

The Bill called ‘Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act 2009’ tries to address concerns which the Obama Administration had with the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement (PEACE) Act tabled by Berman last month.

The Obama Administration’s discomfiture with the PEACE Act was put on record when US Under Secretary of Defence Michelle Flournoy testified before the House Armed Services Committee on April 29.

“Given this rapidly changing and complex environment, Mr Chairman we oppose rigid conditionality, such as that we see in the proposed HR 1886 (the PEACE Act)”While we applaud the goal of accountability, we believe that HR 1886 is too inflexible, especially with regard to the conditions and limits it would place on the equipment we provide to our Pakistani partners. In our view, HR 1886 would severely constrain the Executive Branch and reduce our ability to adapt to the fluid situation on the ground,” she said.

So, there is no mention of India except in the non-binding section called the Statement of Policy where the lawmakers hope that US would work with Pakistan to prevent its territory from being used as a “base or conduit” for terror attacks in “Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and elsewhere in the world”.

Berman wanted an annual Presidential determination will “take into account” the progress Pakistan has made with regard to: “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, including Afghanistan National Security Forces, or against the territory of India or the people of India.”

This finds no mention in the Kerry-Lugar Bill that, instead, calls for the President to report more than once in a year on the developmental spending in Pakistan with details about projects where the annual $1.5 billion aid will go to. Surprisingly, it devotes little space to military aid and the only limitation on this is a certification — not a Presidential determination — to be given by the Secretary of State in consultation with the Secretary of Defence and Director of National Intelligence. This should certify that Pakistani security forces are:

n Making “concerted and consistent” efforts to prevent “Al Qaeda and associated terrorists groups, including Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed” from operating in the territory of Pakistan.

n Making efforts to prevent Taliban and associated militant groups from using Pakistan territory.

n Not materially interfering in the political or judicial processes of Pakistan.

By limiting its certification to just the LeT and JeM, sources said, the Bill does not acknowledge deeper links of these outfits which Berman had sought to reflect in his formulation. Already, these groups are working under different names and cannot be tackled unless their links with security agencies become a matter of regular scrutiny.

Moreover, the Berman Bill had a provision and procedure by which the Congress could overturn a Presidential determination. There is no such provision in this case and so, no possibility of the Congress being able to reject this certification.

There has been massive lobbying on Capitol Hill from Pakistan ever since Berman moved the PEACE Act and this has had its impact besides the diplomatic conversations between Pakistani officials and the US.

Despite Washington’s anxiety over Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, the Senate Bill makes no reference to A Q Khan as, perhaps, a measure to not make it more difficult for the Zardari government in Islamabad.

While India understands the need for US to move cautiously with the civilian government in Pakistan, loosening Congressional oversight on military aid to Pakistan has long-term implications besides the impetus it may end up giving to India-specific terrorist outfits in Pakistan.