Pak rejects call for conditions on US aid

Reid, a Nevada Democrat, told Bush in a letter that the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto two weeks ago had deepened worries about Pakistan’s future and President Pervez Musharraf’s “dismal record of performance”.

Reid said Bush should make aid conditional on removing limits on civil rights, which remain in effect despite the lifting of the emergency.

He demanded Musharraf restore freedom of the press and of association, free all political prisoners detained during the crackdown, reinstate judges dismissed in November, and support a UN investigation into Bhutto’s death.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mohammad Sadiq said conditions should not be put on the “very important” relationship between the two countries.

“We believe that any conditionalities attached to this relationship, or assistance, is not beneficial,” Sadiq said.

Nuclear-armed Pakistan has received about $10 billion in US aid since 2001, when Pakistan abandoned support for neighbouring Afghanistan’s Taliban and joined the US-led campaign against terrorism after the September 11 attacks on the US.

Pakistan has emerged as a hot topic in the US as politicians compete in their parties’ primaries in the run-up to a November presidential election.