Obama signs bill freezing Pak aid

The Nation (Pakistan) ^ | Monday, January 2, 2012 | Special Correspondent

[SunkenCiv]

While signing the bill on Saturday the New Year eve in Honolulu, where he is on year-end vacation, the president expressed many reservations about some of its provisions...

The bill for the year 2012 seeks to suspend 60 percent of $1.1 billion US military aid to Pakistan under the category Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund till the secretaries of State and Defence report to the Congress that Islamabad is making progress in the war against terrorism particularly progress in strategies to counter IEDs...

The Obama Administration has maintained that the bill under no circumstances results in suspension of US military aid to Pakistan, as being interpreted in Pakistan. US officials insist that the Department of Defence and the State Department would work with the government of Pakistan to meet the requirements of the bill...

Under the provision of the bill, the Defence Secretary is also required to submit a report to the Congress on a discussion of US strategic objectives in Pakistan; a listing of the terrorist or extremist organisations in the country opposing US goals and against which the US encourages it to take action. The report will also include discussion of the gaps in capabilities of Pakistani security units that will hamper the ability of Pakistan to take action against those organisations.

The bill signed by Obama also applies penalties against Iran's central bank in that it called for an effort to hamper Tehran's ability to fund its nuclear enrichment programme. The Obama administration is looking to soften the impact of those penalties because of concerns that they could lead to a spike in global oil prices or cause economic hardship on US allies that import petroleum from Iran.

[SunkenCiv]

Zero waves buh-bye.

[SunkenCiv]

"2012 will be remembered as the year of the Pakistani Spring."

[Venturer]

Freeze the whole thing and Fuggitt about ever sending any more.