ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Army on Wednesday expressed “serious concern” about a US aid bill that critics say contains conditions that amount to a humiliating violation of sovereignty as Parliament began a debate on the US aid.
President Asif Ali Zardari earlier rejected suggestions that the bill’s conditions undermined sovereignty.
The military’s rare public criticism of a diplomatic matter raises the possibility of tension with the civilian government which could embolden government critics, an analyst said.
The US Congress last week approved a bill tripling aid for Pakistan to $1.5 billion a year for the next five years and sent it to President Barack Obama for signing into law.
The legislation is part of a bid to build a new relationship with Pakistan that no longer focuses on military ties but on Pakistan’s social and economic development.
But in an effort to address US concerns that Pakistan’s military may support militant groups, the bill stipulates that US military aid will cease if Pakistan does not help fight “terrorists,” including Taleban and Al-Qaeda members taking sanctuary on the Afghan border.
The bill also seeks Pakistani cooperation to dismantle nuclear supplier networks by offering “relevant information from or direct access to Pakistani nationals associated with such networks,” a reference to disgraced nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan who ran a black market in atomic technology.
Pakistan has declined to let foreign investigators question Khan, saying it has passed on all information gleaned from him.
The bill, co-authored by Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar, also provides for an assessment of how effective the civilian government’s control is over the powerful military.
Pakistan’s army chief met his top commanders at army headquarters in Rawalpindi and reiterated that Pakistan was a sovereign state and had the right to respond to threats in accordance with its interests, the military said.
“The forum expressed serious concern regarding clauses impacting on national security,” the military said.
The military did not elaborate but said it was providing the government with “formal input.” It acknowledged it was Parliament that would debate the issue and enable the government to respond.
The controversy comes as the United States, Pakistan’s biggest aid donor, is pressing the army to expand its operations against Pakistani Taleban fighters to include Afghan Taleban and Al-Qaeda militants in lawless border enclaves.
Plans by the US to expand its embassy in Pakistan have also raised suspicion, as has speculation about the embassy’s use of private security contractors.
Opposition politicians have criticized Zardari’s government for allowing what they call the humiliation of the country.
