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WASHINGTON : Pakistan's foreign minister voiced hope that a furor at home over a giant US aid package would subside after US lawmakers gave written guarantees it would not violate the Islamic nation's sovereignty.
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi rushed to Washington after a groundswell of opposition to the 7.5 billion-dollar aid plan, with the powerful military bristling at its calls on Pakistan to fight Islamic extremists.
Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman, who head the committees handling foreign relations in Congress' two chambers, gave Qureshi a document stating that the plan did not impose conditions or infringe on sovereignty.
Qureshi, after huddling with Kerry and Berman for the third time since last week, hailed the document as "historic" and "a step forward in our relationship."
"I am going back to Pakistan to tell my parliament and conclude the debate on the note that our relationship can move forward -- we will deepen it and we will strengthen it," Qureshi told reporters.
He said the willingness of US lawmakers and administration officials "to take the time out to alleviate the fears of Pakistan, I think speaks volumes of the intent behind this legislation."
The White House said President Barack Obama would soon sign the bill, which aims to build schools, roads and democratic institutions in Pakistan as part of a strategy to discredit extremists in the nation and neighboring Afghanistan.
But Shuja Nawaz, a fellow at the Atlantic Council think-tank, said that the Kerry-Berman statement may not be enough to mollify Pakistan's opposition, whose real target is not Congress but President Asif Ali Zardari.
"I'm not quite sure how much this statement will help except that it will give the government in Pakistan a little political cover," Nawaz said.
"I don't know if it will resolve the underlying unhappiness with the way the bill was presented to the Pakistani people -- by their own government among others."
Zardari, a civilian, ended a decade of military rule last year but US officials have privately voiced concern about whether he can control the army, which the aid package deliberately bypasses from much decision-making.
Nawaz said he found the aid package "extremely well-intentioned" and a "huge change from previous US policies" by making a firm commitment for five years with an option to extend it beyond.
"But the devil is in the details and some of those details have now been picked up by the political opposition in Pakistan and it clearly rankled the military, too," he said.
The lawmakers' statement said the aid meant "to forge a closer collaborative relationship between Pakistan and the United States, not to dictate the national policy or impinge on the sovereignty of Pakistan in any way."
"Any interpretation of this act which suggests that the United States does not fully recognize and respect the sovereignty of Pakistan would be directly contrary to congressional intent," it said.
Kerry, who is set to tour Pakistan and Afghanistan this week, said that the statement would carry the force of law as it would be attached to the bill when the president signs it.
But experts said that the legal force of the statement was a gray area.
The document -- which largely reiterates points from the legislation -- is known as a joint explanatory statement. Congress routinely issues such statements to detail how the Senate and the House resolve differences.
While the statements usually only explain the background of a law, they are rarely issued separately so long after Congress approves legislation.
- AFP/vm
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