WASHINGTON: Under pressure from lawmakers to put accountability clauses for US aid to Pakistan, the Obama Administration on Friday said it is preparing a set of benchmarks for Islamabad to gauge its commitment and success in the war against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
Being prepared by the different wings of the US Government including Pentagon and the Department of State, some of these benchmarks would soon be made public, a State Department official said.
"We hope to make some of the benchmarks public. But there would be things, which we can't release to the public," the official said.
The process has not been completed yet, but is likely to be over soon, he said, adding: "We know it is important, so we are working hard on it. We hope to make the general benchmarks public."
The move to establish the benchmarks comes after a number of lawmakers both from the House of Representatives and the US Senate in the past few weeks have alleged that there is no accountability measure for Pakistan in the Obama Administration's proposal to give USD 7.5 billion civilian aid in next five years and another couple of billion of military assistance to the country.
At a Congressional hearing last week, some Senators had threatened to oppose the proposal in this regard in the absence of benchmarks or accountability measures, as they alleged that given the past history of Pakistan it is most likely that the aid money would not be used for the purpose it is meant.
"You're asking us to vote for a whole new set of money without knowing whether there are going to be benchmarks, without knowing whether we have a better system of accountability. I personally can't continue down that road, as much as I think this is critical," Robert Menendez, the Democrat Senator from New Jersey, said last week.
At the same hearing Republican Senator from Tennessee, Bob Corker asked special US envoy for Af-Pak Richard Holbrooke: "We are asking you to tell us what you're going to do with this money after we pass the bill... For us to pass a large amount of funding and yet then ask later for you to tell us what you're going to do with it to me seems backwards."
"I think we are potentially embarking on a monumental mistake, whether we end up doing the right things or not, by this body not discussing this in the way that it should and being fully bought into something that I think is going to be a part of our country's efforts for years to come, especially since we are, in fact, doubling down, if you will, in Afghanistan," Croker said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Obama-preparing-benchmarks-for-Pakistan/articleshow/4563693.cms
Being prepared by the different wings of the US Government including Pentagon and the Department of State, some of these benchmarks would soon be made public, a State Department official said.
"We hope to make some of the benchmarks public. But there would be things, which we can't release to the public," the official said.
The process has not been completed yet, but is likely to be over soon, he said, adding: "We know it is important, so we are working hard on it. We hope to make the general benchmarks public."
The move to establish the benchmarks comes after a number of lawmakers both from the House of Representatives and the US Senate in the past few weeks have alleged that there is no accountability measure for Pakistan in the Obama Administration's proposal to give USD 7.5 billion civilian aid in next five years and another couple of billion of military assistance to the country.
At a Congressional hearing last week, some Senators had threatened to oppose the proposal in this regard in the absence of benchmarks or accountability measures, as they alleged that given the past history of Pakistan it is most likely that the aid money would not be used for the purpose it is meant.
"You're asking us to vote for a whole new set of money without knowing whether there are going to be benchmarks, without knowing whether we have a better system of accountability. I personally can't continue down that road, as much as I think this is critical," Robert Menendez, the Democrat Senator from New Jersey, said last week.
At the same hearing Republican Senator from Tennessee, Bob Corker asked special US envoy for Af-Pak Richard Holbrooke: "We are asking you to tell us what you're going to do with this money after we pass the bill... For us to pass a large amount of funding and yet then ask later for you to tell us what you're going to do with it to me seems backwards."
"I think we are potentially embarking on a monumental mistake, whether we end up doing the right things or not, by this body not discussing this in the way that it should and being fully bought into something that I think is going to be a part of our country's efforts for years to come, especially since we are, in fact, doubling down, if you will, in Afghanistan," Croker said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Obama-preparing-benchmarks-for-Pakistan/articleshow/4563693.cms
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