Pakistani senators urge government to reject Kerry Lugar bill

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 10th, 2009 KARACHI - Amid the widespread criticism the Kerry Lugar Bill has received in Pakistan, US and Pakistani officials and are working behind the scenes to work out a 'middle path' to end the crisis. Sources said that US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson and top military officials have been busy in letting President Barack Obama know the questionable clauses of the proposed aid bill, that has actually made the Pakistani political parties and the Army cry foul.

October 9th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani opposition parties have described the controversial Kerry Lugar Bill as a 'national insult' and an attempt by the US to interfere in the country's internal issues. During a discussion over the bill in the National Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Faisal Saleh Hayat said the terms and conditions attached with the bill have created differences among various government institutions.

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 8th, 2009 KARACHI - The Pakistan Army's top brass, while objecting to the terms and conditions attached with the Kerry Lugar Bill, has also raised apprehensions regarding the presence of some persons within the Gilani government who are trying to weaken the nation's Armed Forces and the premier intelligence agency, the Inter State Intelligence (ISI), The News reports. According to sources, the Army has substantial evidence regarding the presence of some 'elements' in the government who lobbied heavily for the inclusion of anti-military and anti-nuclear programme clauses in the controversial Kerry Lugar Bill.

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 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 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 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 29th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has criticized the PPP government for keeping the people of the country in the dark over the terms and conditions attached with the Kerry Lugar aid bill, and has termed the 1.5 billion dollar annual US assistance as 'peanuts'. Interacting with media persons here, PML-N spokesman Ahsan Iqbal said the government should take parliament into confidence before accepting the conditions stated in the bill.

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.