The US on Friday wrote-off nearly $500 million debt owed by Pakistan under an agreement signed between the two countries, a day after Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage visited Islamabad to discuss among other things Pakistan's chances of sending troops to Iraq.
The agreement to write-off $495.3 million debt was signed in Islamabad by US Ambassador to Pakistan Nancy Powell and Secretary of Pakistan Economic Division Waqar Masood Khan, taking the total debt cancellation during the past two years to $1.5 billion.
Powell appreciated Pakistan's economic policies initiated during the past five years and said the write-off marked a continuation of the US partnership with Pakistan.
"Our continued commitment to Pakistan is a vote of confidence in the economic stewardship of the Pakistani government and the intelligence, energy and resourcefulness of the Pakistani people," she said.
Though Armitage said the US has not made any request to Pakistan to send troops to Iraq as part of the UN peacekeeping force, he left the issue open saying that it was upto Pakistan to "make up" its mind.