Islamabad, Jan 2 (ANI): US President Barack Obama has signed a massive 662 billion dollars national defence authorisation bill into law, which among other sweeping measures, seeks to freeze 700 million dollars in aid to Pakistan.
The US has suspended a big chunk of financial aid until Pakistan gives assurances it is helping fight the spread of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The bill for the year 2012 seeks to suspend 60 percent of the 1.1 billion dollars US military aid to Pakistan under the category Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund.
The Obama administration has maintained that the bill under no circumstances results in suspension of US military aid to Pakistan, as being interpreted in Pakistan, The Nation reports.
US officials made clear that the Department of Defence and the State Department would work with the government of Pakistan to meet the requirements of the bill.
According to the report, under the provisions of the bill, the Defence Secretary is also required to submit a report to the Congress on a discussion of US strategic objectives in Pakistan, a listing of the terrorist or extremist organisations in the country opposing US goals and against which the US encourages it to take action.
While signing the bill on Saturday in Honolulu, Obama expressed many reservations about some of its provisions.
He cited a litany of disagreements with various provisions of the bill after stating "the fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it."
"I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists," Obama said in a statement after signing the bill. (ANI)
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