The Obama administration announced a $2 billion,
multi-year security assistance package Friday to help Pakistan fight extremists taking refuge in safe havens along its border with Afghanistan.
The five-year package would pay for military hardware and equipment Pakistan needs for the counterinsurgency fight, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said. It is subject to congressional approval, and complements the $7.5 billion in civilian projects approved by Congress last year.
"The United States has no stronger partner when it comes to
counterterrorism efforts against the extremists who threaten us both than Pakistan," Clinton said.
She made the announcement at the opening of the U.S.-Pakistan Plenary Session at the State Department, alongside Pakistan's foreign minister, Mahmood Qureshi.
The aid would extend from 2012 to 2017. It comes on the heels of a White House report sent to Congress earlier this month that used unusually tough language suggesting Pakistan is not doing nearly enough to confront the Taliban and al Qaeda, despite repeated Obama administration statements that Pakistan is working hard to crack down on militants.
Qureshi said the United States should not dismiss Pakistan's contributions, and insisted that suggestions that Pakistan's efforts in the war on terror are half-hearted are unfounded.
CNN
