Pakistan army unhappy with Kerry-Luger bill

NY Times:

In an unusual move, the Pakistani Army expressed public anger Wednesday at the terms of a large American aid package, saying it interfered with Pakistan’s national security, a posture that set the military at loggerheads with the American-backed civilian government.

The criticism made in a statement after the monthly meeting of the nation’s top generals embarrassed the government of President Asif Ali Zardari and came as the Obama administration is seeking to persuade the Pakistani Army to broaden its campaign against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan.

The chief of the Pakistani Army, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, was so offended by stipulations in the American legislation that he complained to the American commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, when the two men met in Islamabad on Tuesday, according to a senior Pakistani military officer.

The legislation passed by Congress last week gives Pakistan $1.5 billion over the next year for the Zardari government to build roads, schools and other infrastructure, a gesture intended to shore up the weak civilian government and turn around the widespread antipathy toward the United States among Pakistanis.

Instead, the aid package has served to widen the distrust between the powerful military and the civilian government, even though the new aid comes in addition to America’s aid to the Pakistani military, which had totaled more than $10 billion since 2001.

The section of the legislation that has outraged the army says the secretary of state must report to Congress every six months on whether the government is exercising “effective civilian control over the military.”

The secretary must assess the extent to which the civilian government has oversight over the military chain of command, promotion of generals and the military budgets, provisions that even Pakistani politicians have taken strong exception to as meddling in Pakistan’s own business.

...
The UK Times reports:

...

Critics in Pakistan say that the conditions give Washington too much influence over domestic and foreign policy, and some argue that the Bill should be revised or rejected outright.

The main opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), said that potential amendments should be discussed in parliament and put to the United States.

“The incompetence of the Zardari regime has brought humiliation for Pakistan,” said Ahsan Iqbal, a spokesman for the PML (N), led by the former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

“Any conditionality with such assistance must respect Pakistan’s sovereignty and self-respect.”

...


I think Pakistan's previous diversion of fund provided is probably the reason for the tight reins this time.

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