Sixteen influential US lawmakers, including one Republican -- several of them members of the powerful House International Relations Committee -- have written to President George W Bush outlining the issues and progress needed before they would support any additional assistance to Pakistan.
When Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf visited the US recently and was hosted at Camp David by Bush, as a reward for Islamabad's support as a front-line ally in the US-led global war against terrorism and for helping Washington apprehend the leadership of the al Qaeda, he was promised $3 billion in economic and military aid over the next five years.
In their missive to Bush, the lawmakers said, "Pakistan presents the United States with a plethora of policy challenges concerning nuclear non-proliferation, terrorism and democratisation and on each of these President Musharraf should demonstrate real progress beyond the verbal commitments he has made on each."
On non-proliferation, the lawmakers said, "We will expect that President Musharraf keep his word to Secretary (of State Colin) Powell that there will be no more dealings between Pakistan and North Korea on weapons of mass destruction and missile technology."
"Additionally," they wrote, "we have seen references in the media that the centrifuges that Iran is using for uranium enrichment at their Natanz facility are of Pakistani design. We will expect that no Pakistani weapons of mass destruction or missile technology will got to North Korea, Iran or any other US-designated terrorist State, entity, or person. In fact, we will expect Pakistani not to export weapons of mass destruction or missile technology to any state, entity or person."
On terrorism, the lawmakers said that they "would be looking for continued cooperation on al Qaeda and the Taliban, which Pakistan has given us and for which we are grateful."
"It is also time, however," they informed Bush, "to dismantle the terrorist networks that threaten Pakistan's internal stability and engage in terrorism across the Line of Control in Kashmir."
The lawmakers argued that Pakistan can "no longer afford its dalliance with Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Harkat-ul-Mujahhedin or Hizb-ul-Mujaheddin."
"It is not enough to move terrorist camps from Pakistani-controlled Kashmir to the Punjab; the camps, and the groups, must be dismantled, the terrorist financial networks must be eliminated and the terrorists must be arrested and prosecuted, not merely put under house arrest or other informal detention," they said.
Meanwhile, on democratisation, the lawmakers said "we will be looking for a quicker pace for democratic reform. The unilateral constitutional changes President Musharraf imposed last August have caused a deadlock in the parliament and threaten already fragile democratic institutions."
"If, as President Musharraf maintains, most Pakistanis don't want a theocracy," they said," then those political parties that support a moderate, secular state, must be given the political space necessary to operate."
The lawmakers also made it clear in their letter to Bush that they would be "watching closely Pakistan's efforts to protect ethnic and religious minorities."
They acknowledged "the steps outlined above are neither simple nor easy, but if Pakistan is to achieve President Musharraf's stated vision of a modern, moderate, secular state at peace with its neighbours, then they are steps that Pakistan must take."
"The United States can and should help but only to the extent that Pakistan has demonstrated progress in these three areas," the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers signing the letter included the current Democratic co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, Joseph Crowley of New York, former Democratic co-chairs, Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Gary Ackerman of New York and Jim Mcdermott of Washington and the seniormost Democrat on the International Relations Committee, Tom Lantos of California.
The only Republican to put her name to the letter was Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, of Florida, also a member of the International Relations Committee like Democrats Lantos, Ackerman, Crowley, and others like Robert Wexler of Florida,Howard Berman of California and Shelley Berkley of Nevada.
