Pakistan : Freeing Dr Shakil Afridi vs losing $33m

The Express Tribune

The United States has warned that it could withhold $33 million of its allotted aid to Pakistan until Secretary of State John Kerry certifies that alleged CIA collaborator Dr Shakil Afridi has been released and cleared of all charges. The new $1.1 trillion spending bill, for the remaining part of the current fiscal year, appropriates military and non-military aid to Pakistan. But on page 1,327 of the 1,582-page document, the US government warns to withhold $33 million from the available assistance “until the Secretary of State reports to the Committees on Appropriations that Dr Shakil Afridi has been released from prison and cleared of all charges relating to the assistance provided to the United States in locating Osama bin Laden”. Separately in the spending bill, the US administration allots aid to Pakistan to the “counterterrorism and counterinsurgeny capabilities” of the country. Other funds will be appropriated for assistance to Afghanistan and Pakistan, cross-border stabilisation and development programmes. The Congress also requires the US government to devise a “spend plan,” which shall include “achievable and sustainable goals, benchmarks for measuring progress, and expected results for combating poverty and furthering development.” Moreover, not later than six months of the ‘spend plan’ – and every six months thereafter until September 30, 2015 – the US Secretary of State is to submit a report on the status of these goals achieved to Committees of Appropriations for future allotment of funds. The spending bill was passed on Wednesday by an overwhelming majority in the US House of Representatives – its lower house – and the Senate, controlled by Democrats, is expected to pass it easily this week.