Pak Presidency rejects Army’s concerns over Kerry Lugar Bill

October 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Worried by the wide scale criticism of the Kerry Lugar Bill in Pakistan, US Vice President Joe Biden has said that Washington is considering Islamabad's reservations on the aid Bill. Biden met Pakistani ambassador-at-large Raffat Mahmood in Washington and told him that the Obama Administration is aware of Pakistan's concerns and is examining them, The News reports.

October 9th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has reiterated that it is not bound to accept the 'stringed' Kerry Lugar Bill and is expecting that the US would make suitable amendments in the Bill in view of the large scale criticism it has received in the country. ddressing media persons during a regular press briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Abdul Basit said the Kerry Lugar Bill was not a bilateral agreement, so it was not necessary for the Pakistan government to agree with all of its clauses.

October 9th, 2009 LAHORE - US Ambassador to Pakistan, Anne W Patterson, has said many clauses in the Kerry-Lugar Bill with regard to the Pakistan Army "are a big mistake". The Daily Times quoted Patterson as saying that the Obama administration had gone the extra mile to ensure that the bill didn't harm Pakistan's sovereignty.

October 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has termed the controversial Kerry-Lugar Bill as a 'triumph for India'. Addressing party leaders here, Hussain said the bill cannot be accepted in its current form as it has several controversial points regarding the Army, Pakistan's nuclear programme and security agencies.

October 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has rejected reports regarding a rift between the government and the Army over the Kerry Lugar Bill issue. Responding to queries about altercations between the government and the Pakistan Army over the 'severe' terms and conditions attached with the US aid bill, Kaira said: "There is no clash between the government and Army." Kaira said Pakistan was not bound to accept the terms and conditions in the bill, as it has not inked any deal with the US in this regard.

October 8th, 2009 Washington, Oct.8: US Senator John Kerry, the main sponsor of the controversial Kerry Lugar Bill, has said that there are no conditions in respect to the civilian and economic assistance attached to the Bill, rather it contains accountability measures to ensure that the amount is spent in exactly in the way it is being provided for. "There are measures of financial accountability in place to ensure the money is spent in a way that the American people want it to be spent," Kerry said.

October 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The controversial Kerry-Lugar Bill, which offers Pakistan 1.5 billion dollars yearly over the next five years, is likely to come up for discussion during the meeting of Corps Commanders at General Headquarters in Rawalpindi today. Highly placed sources said the US aid Bill is unlikely to garner support during the meeting of Pakistan Army's top brass, which may ultimately sour the relationship between the armed forces and the government, which has been describing the assistance as its 'big success'.

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US Senator John Kerry, the main sponsor of the controversial Kerry Lugar Bill, has said Washington has no intention to harm Pakistan's sovereignty through the Bill. Addressing a press conference after meeting Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi here, Kerry said the Obama Administration wants to work for the better of the Pakistanis and stressed that the aid Bill is a clear sign of US' direct relations with the people of Pakistan.

October 7th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Defending the Kerry Lugar Bill, Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has termed the controversial aid package as a 'big success' of his government. Addressing a meeting of government coalition partners, Gilani said the United States has assured all help to Pakistan.

October 3rd, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's senators have slammed the Kerry-Lugar Bill saying that it targets the country's nuclear weapons. Opposition senators, including Raja Zafar ul Haq, Waseem Sajjad, Ishaq Dar, urged the government to reject it as it was against the independence and sovereignty of Pakistan.

October 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan's envoy to the US, Hussain Haqqani, has said the Kerry-Lugar Bill has no provision to restrict Islamabad's nuclear programme. However, he added, that the bill prevents Pakistan from being part of any outward proliferation.

October 1st, 2009 KARACHI - The Kerry-Lugar aid Bill, which promises 1.5 billion dollars of annual assistance to Pakistan over the next five years, has been receiving flak from different quarters in the country. Pakistani political parties have criticized the United States for adding severe conditions on the aid bill terming them 'humiliating'.

September 29th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Amid the growing discontent over the conditions attached with the Kerry-Lugar aid bill in the country, Pakistan's Ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani has said that the US' policies could not be altered. "The US was the sole super power of the contemporary world and it was not possible for any country to influence its polices.

September 28th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid has termed the Kerry-Lugar economic aid bill as an "insult to Pakistan", demanding an explanation from the government on how it has accepted the language of the bill that weakens Pakistan's position on the international front. The Daily Times quoted PML-Q legislator Marvi Memon, as saying that "asking Pakistan to cease support - including by any elements within the military or intelligence agencies - to extremist and terrorist groups" in the text of the Kerry-Lugar bill was insulting and sent a wrong message to the world.

August 29th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Kerry-Lugar Bill would be approved by the American Senate by September, the coordinator of the non-military aid to Islamabad has said. The Dawn quoted Rabin Raphael, as saying that his appointment for managing the affairs in Pakistan pertained to oversee a coordinated disbursement of aid supplied to Pakistan under USAID and Kerry-Lugar schemes.