Obama Signs Kerry-Lugar bill
Oct 16, 2009 News & Events, Pakistan, pakistan politics
WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Thursday signed into law a bill that triples non-military aid to Pakistan to about $7.5 billion over the next five years, the White House said.
The US president signed the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009, also known as the Kerry-Lugar-Berman bill, without fanfare before leaving on a trip to New Orleans.
The bill has come under fierce criticism in Pakistan, which dampened the US desire to showcase the bill as a major milestone towards establishing long-term partnership with Pakistan.
Although Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told a news briefing in Washington on Wednesday that Obama would also attach a signing statement to the new law, the White House said that the president did not and had no intention to do so.
A signing statement underscores the way the executive intends to implement a law, which may differ from the text of the law itself.
‘This law is the tangible manifestation of broad support for Pakistan in the US, as evidenced by its bipartisan, bicameral, unanimous passage in Congress,’ White House spokesman Robert Gates said.
The signing followed efforts by the Obama administration and US lawmakers to allay concerns in Pakistan over conditions linked to the aid package, while making clear the legislation would not be changed.
Gibbs said President Obama wanted to engage Pakistan on the basis of a strategic partnership ‘grounded in support for Pakistan’s democratic institutions and the Pakistani people’.
‘This act formalises that partnership, based on a shared commitment to improving the living conditions of the people of Pakistan through sustainable economic development, strengthening democracy and the rule of law, and combating the extremism that threatens Pakistan and the United States,’ he said.
Tags: Kerry, Kerry Lugar Bill, Lugar, obama, Pakistan, US senate, war on terror
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