No intention to micromanage affairs, US lawmakers tell Pakistan

October 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has attached a separate memo with the Kerry Lugar Bill to clarify the conditions mentioned in the legislation, however, the new document too mentions that Pakistan must prevent its soil from being used by militants to launch a terror attack on other countries. The language of the explanatory note appeared to be watered down from the initial conditionalities, but a minute observation of the note clarifies that the US' intent remains the same.

October 14th, 2009 Pakistani official: US aid won't hurt sovereigntyWASHINGTON — Pakistan's foreign minister said Wednesday that senior U.S. lawmakers have eased fears that a multibillion-dollar American aid package would interfere with Pakistan's sovereignty.

October 13th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - US Senator Daniel Inouye has rebuffed Pakistani concerns over certain clauses in the Kerry-Lugar Bill, saying the US has no intention of influencing any institution in Pakistan, but only trying to help it. His statement came after Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari told him that were concerns being expressed in certain quarters about some of the provisions of the Kerry-Lugar Bill and that the USA and Pakistan need to work together to alleviate these concerns.

October 13th, 2009 US seeks to soothe Pakistani anger over aidWASHINGTON — Senior lawmakers sought Tuesday to soothe anger in Pakistan over a proposed multibillion-dollar aid package, saying they would provide assurances that the United States has no intention of interfering with Pakistan's sovereignty. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who co-sponsored the aid package, said lawmakers would prepare an explanatory statement to accompany the bill, which has language that some in Pakistan see as outside interference with their government.

October 13th, 2009 HOUSTON - Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has warned the United States that it should not try to "micromanage" Pakistan's anti-terrorism efforts against the Taliban. "Don't get into micromanaging how Pakistan works because we know how to do it better than you," the Daily Times Quoted Musharraf, as saying.

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has rejected apprehensions regarding a threat to the Zardari government following the Pakistan Army's open criticism of the controversial Kerry-Lugar Bill. US Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs PJ Crowley told media persons here that there was no threat to the Pakistan government in view of the military's opposition of the Kerry Lugar Bill.

September 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The much awaited Kerry-Lugar bill, which seeks 1.5 billion dollars of annual assistance to Pakistan for the next five years, has been tabled in the US Lower House following the Senate's approval. Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Howard Berman, while welcoming the Senate's decision, tabled the bill in the House of Representatives.

August 29th, 2009 ABOHAR - The Punjabi Durbar programme of Radio Pakistan seems to have run out of ideas. In its latest programme, it has criticised Dr.

June 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Stopping cross border attacks and cracking down on the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and other major terrorist organizations, are some of the key benchmarks that the US House of Representatives has attached to the annual aid bill for Pakistan worth 1.5 billion dollars. According to the restrictions included in the 'Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act' (PEACE), an evaluation of efforts would be undertaken by the Pakistan government to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other extremist and terrorist groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and other regions.

June 12th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives has approved a bill to provide Pakistan $1.5 billion annually in aid till 2013, a media report said Friday. The House Thursday voted 238-183 to triple the US annual aid to Pakistan.

May 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - An expert on South Asian affairs, Lisa Curtis, has said that Wednesday's terrorist attack in Lahore should not shake Pakistan's resolve to deal with the menace. "The attack demonstrates that Taliban militants are capable of striking anywhere in the country.

May 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States on Tuesday quashed all speculations of a military takeover in Pakistan, saying that it would be terrible if it happened. S special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke touched on a number of sensitive issues in his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

February 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Former president Pervez Musharraf has said that his government had not inked any agreement with the US over drone attacks on Pakistan, Online reported. Musharraf said: 'Increase in terrorism and extremism is influencing people towards Al-Qaeda and Talibanisation.

January 4th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India Monday handed over to Pakistan evidence linking Pakistan-based militants to the Mumbai carnage and intensified international pressure on Islamabad to act against terror outfits in that country. 'We have today given evidence to Pakistan of links between elements in Pakistan and the terrorists who attacked Mumbai,' External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters here Monday morning.

January 3rd, 2009 LONDON - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Sunday that solving the 'Pakistan problem' is crucial to an Afghan strategy. Asked if more troops were needed in Afghanistan, Brown told BBC in an interview: 'We [Britain] have already got more troops there but we need to solve the Pakistan problem.' 'We need to ensure that there's an economic stake in the country in Afghanistan and we've got to back up the Afghan army - at some point they've got to take control of their own affairs.' In a separate interview with The Observer newspaper published Sunday, the British leader said British forces are endangered by the ability of terrorists to move to and fro Pakistan.