The 9/11 Commission recommended the United States "make the difficult long-term commitment to the future of Pakistan" and "support Pakistan's government in its struggle against extremists with a comprehensive effort that extends from military aid to support for better education, so long as Pakistan's leaders remain willing to make difficult choices of their own."

Composition and Levels of Assistance, Including Security and Other Assistance

The United States commitment to a long-term relationship with Pakistan is highlighted by President Bush's pledge to Pakistani President Musharraf to seek from Congress $3 billion in Economic Support Funds (ESF) and Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Pakistan during the five-year period from FY-2005 through FY-2009. Since 2002, U.S. assistance to Pakistan, including Coalition Support Funds (CSF), totals $9.92 billion. Approximately $1.24 billion in U.S. assistance, also including CSF, was provided to Pakistan from monies appropriated for FY-2007. The Administration requested $845 million in assistance for Pakistan for FY-2008 and is requesting $785 million for FY-2009, neither of which includes CSF.

In addition to Economic Support Funds and Foreign Military Financing, the United States is also providing other forms of assistance to Pakistan, including funding for Child Survival and Health (CSH), Development Assistance (DA), International Military Education and Training (IMET), International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INCLE), Antiterrorism Assistance (NADR-ATA), Export Control and Border Security (NADR¬EXBS), Small Arms and Light Weapons (NADR-SALW), Terrorism Interdiction Programs (NADR-TIP), Food for Peace (P.L. 480 Title I & II), Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA), and International Disaster and Famine Assistance (IDFA). The chart below offers a comparison of selected types of assistance and does not include CSF.

The mix of U.S. assistance for Pakistan reflects the diverse ways the United States is cooperating with Pakistan in pursuit of critical USG policy goals. These include prosecuting the War on Terror; countering nuclear proliferation; building a stable and democratic Afghanistan; ensuring peace and stability in South Asia through the continuation of the India-Pakistan reconciliation process; supporting Pakistan's efforts to become a modern, prosperous, democratic state; and assisting it in reconstruction efforts from the October 8, 2005 earthquake.

U.S. Foreign Military Financing (FMF) funding for Pakistan is designed to enhance Pakistan's capabilities in the War on Terror; help it to better control its borders; meet its legitimate defense needs; and make Pakistan more secure so that it can more readily take the steps necessary to build a durable peace with all its neighbors-thus fostering security and stability throughout the South Asia region. FMF is being used by Pakistan to purchase helicopters, aircraft, weapons systems, munitions, and other equipment, which, inter alia, have enabled Pakistan's armed forces to operate against foreign terrorists and militants in the rugged border areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The Pakistani military is continuing military operations along that border. Since 2001, over 1,000 Pakistani military personnel have been killed carrying out operations in support of the War on Terror.

International Military Education and Training (IMET) assistance for Pakistan complements FMF by exposing Pakistani officers to U.S. doctrine, systems, and American culture, promoting military-to-military cooperation, increased professionalism, and enhanced military interoperability between Pakistan and the United States. IMET also assists Pakistan in developing expertise and systems to more effectively manage its defense establishment; builds technical skills for better operation and maintenance of U.S.-origin equipment; and promotes military subordination to democratic civilian rule and respect for human rights. For FY-2008, the Administration's International Military Education and Training request is just under $2.0 million, with post seeking sizable increases in the future to bridge the gap created during sanction years when no Pakistani military officials attended training in the United States

Measures to Ensure that Assistance Has the Greatest Long-Term Positive Impact on the Welfare of Pakistani People and Their Ability to Cooperate Against Terror

Economic Support Funds, Development Assistance, and Child Survival and Health assistance are being used to improve the lives of ordinary Pakistanis; lay the groundwork for the country's sustained economic growth; and strengthen social, political, and economic institutions, thus alleviating the conditions that breed extremism while demonstrating that the United States interest in Pakistan extends beyond the War on Terror to concern for the Pakistani people as a whole.

Approximately $60 million in FY-2008 Economic Support Funds and Development Assistance funds will be allocated to implement education reform programs in Pakistan and support the Government of Pakistan's initiative to improve the teaching and learning process in public schools. Pakistan's low literacy rate greatly hampers its ability to develop and expand its economic base. Literacy averages 54 percent nationwide, and in Pakistan's remote tribal areas can be as low as 0.5 percent for women. The dearth of good public schools results in thousands of youth attending madrassas, schools that teach mainly religious subjects, some of which promote a radical, violent ideology. To tackle these problems, USG-funded education programs in Pakistan are aimed at improving the quality of education in Pakistani primary and secondary schools, especially in Baluchistan, Sindh, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA); improving early childhood education; training teachers; increasing parental and community involvement in schools; ensuring teachers have adequate classroom materials; improving access to schools and promoting the development of a new generation of Pakistani leaders by providing scholarships for disadvantaged students to obtain a higher education. Adult and youth literacy education programs are targeting out-of-school youth and illiterate adult populations, with a focus on women and girls. In addition, student exchanges play a large part in our education efforts, with Pakistan's Fulbright program being the largest in the world.

Democratization is a key focus of USG assistance toward Pakistan. One of the fundamental tools for combating terrorism over the long-term is democracy. The programs include several mutually reinforcing components: legislative training to increase the effectiveness, transparency, and accountability of Pakistan's provincial and national parliaments; political party strengthening focused on identifying and training young reformers - tomorrow's political leadership; support for increased women's political participation; independent media training for journalists; and civil society development designed to increase the capacity of indigenous nongovernmental organizations to serve as policy watchdogs and promote human rights. In preparation for the 2008 elections, several USAID-funded non-governmental organizations are conducting security assessments in sensitive areas to ensure the safety of observers, monitors, and polling stations.

Pakistan trails its South Asian neighbors in almost all key health areas: maternal and infant mortality; safe affordable family planning; and control of infectious diseases. FY-2008 Child Survival and Health funds will be used to increase availability of maternal and child health services, especially in rural areas; to ensure that families who want to space births can access high quality family planning services; to help maintain Pakistan's low human immunodeficiency virus prevalence rate by increasing awareness; to eradicate polio, to support continued progress in TB diagnosis and treatment; and to increase communities’ access to clean drinking water and their practice of adequate hygiene behaviors.

The United States supports Pakistan’s economic growth. New programs are being developed to create jobs and increase incomes. Current programs providing microfinance and small business lending in rural and peri-urban areas will continue to enable enterprise development and smooth income streams for the poor. Programs improving the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises are assisting the growth of Pakistani exports and generating frequent, positive coverage in the local press, helping to improve the image of USG assistance.

Earthquake Reconstruction efforts will enter their third year in FY-2008, and will continue to rebuild, furnish, and supply health and education sector infrastructure and human resource capacities; to re-establish the livelihoods of earthquake victims; to resettle displaced victims; and to train skilled and unskilled individuals in vocational training, agriculture, and livestock development, asset formation, enterprise development, micro-credit, and market restoration.

The FY-2008 budget request for Economic Support Funds, Child Survival and Health, and Development Assistance (DA) is $500 million, which is $10 million less than the FY-2007 actual budget. Part of the FY-2008 request is $60 million in ESF funds from the Global War on Terror Supplemental. This will help fund the government’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas Sustainable Development Plan to improve governance and encourage economic development of the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

International Narcotics and Law Enforcement funds for Pakistan continue to strengthen border security and enable law enforcement access to remote areas along the Pak-Afghan border - thus enhancing the country's capability to interdict traffickers in narcotics, arms, persons, and contraband, as well as terrorists. International Narcotics and Law Enforcement funds are used to reform, strengthen, and improve cooperation among Pakistan's law enforcement agencies, all of which play an important role in the War on Terror. International Narcotics and Law Enforcement funds support a counternarcotics Air Wing based in Quetta, Baluchistan, operated by Pakistan's Interior Ministry. The Wing includes C-208 Caravan fixed-wing surveillance aircraft and UH-2 Huey II helicopters.

International Narcotics and Law Enforcement funds are also used to procure vehicles and communications, surveillance, and related equipment for border control and counter-narcotics activities; fund infrastructure projects to enhance roads in inaccessible parts of FATA; fund an Automated Fingerprint Identification System and National Criminal Database; and for training and equipment to expand law enforcement investigative skills and forensic capacities. In tackling poppy cultivation, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement funds support crop control, alternative livelihood, and demand reduction programs.

Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Export Control and Related Border Security assistance strengthens Pakistan's export control system and thus prevents weapons of mass destruction and related technology transfers that raise proliferation concerns. Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Export Control and Related Border Security funds are used for nonproliferation export control training addressing legal/regulatory reform, export licensing systems, customs enforcement, general inspection, weapons of mass destruction detection training for border control personnel, and procuring specialized radiation/chemical detection equipment. The Administration's $500,000 FY-2008 request in Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Export Control and Related Border Security assistance represents a slight decrease from the FY-2007 $600,000 request.

Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Antiterrorism Assistance funding for Pakistan enhances the capabilities of elite national police units responsible for counterterrorism investigations and tactical operations. Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Antiterrorism Assistance trained the Special Investigation Group and crisis response teams that were integral in making arrests after the December 2003 assassination attempts on President Musharraf and the May 2004 car bombs near the U.S Consulate in Karachi. The Administration's FY-2008 request of $8 million for Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Antiterrorism Assistance represents a decrease from the FY-2007 $8.59 million request.

Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Terrorism Interdiction Programs funding for Pakistan is being used to support the Personal Identification Secure Comparison Evaluation System automated border control system, including to sustain ongoing program operations and to expand coverage to additional Pakistani ports-of-entry. The Administration is requesting $900,000 in Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining, and Related Programs/Terrorism Interdiction Programs funds for Pakistan for FY-2008, a slight decrease from the $1 million requested for FY-2007.

Measures to Alleviate Difficulties, Misunderstandings, and Complications in United States-Pakistani Relations

The United States and Pakistan engage in extensive consultations to ensure U.S. foreign assistance has the greatest long-term benefit for Pakistanis and also enhances the country's ability to cooperate in the War on Terror. This is exemplified by the annual consultations that result in mutually-agreed Shared Objectives for the Government of Pakistan's use of $200 million in Economic Support Funds in direct budget support. The United States participates in the annual Pakistan Development Forum, which brings together the Government of Pakistan and bilateral and multilateral donors to discuss Pakistan's development priorities and assistance needs. The United States holds regular consultations with major donors including Great Britain, the European Union, Japan, the Asian Development Bank, and the World Bank, to ensure that assistance to Pakistan is effectively coordinated for maximum impact.

The USAID Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Development Program supports the Government of Pakistan’s FATA Sustainable Development Plan. The USAID program is focused on improving health, education, access to and availability of jobs, and capacity-building of FATA institutions. In education, USAID is improving access and quality of education for students by building and furnishing 65 primary, middle, and high schools; awarding scholarships to 37 women from this area to attend a one-year, pre-service teacher education program; and building or restoring water and sanitation facilities at 190 girls' primary schools and 90 villages. In health, USAID is improving the quality of drinking water, training health practitioners, providing polio vaccines, and immunizing children. To date, the United States has conducted 32 polio eradication campaigns in the FATA. USAID is promoting competitiveness initiatives to support both the marble and granite, and gems and jewelry sectors of the local economy, as well as provide jobs, training opportunities, and access to micro loans. Finally, the program is building the capacity of the FATA Secretariat and other Government of Pakistan institutions to improve their ability to deliver services to the people of the FATA and to ensure the sustainability of USAID’s development efforts in the region.

USAID GLOBAL EXPORT PROMOTION PROGRAMS

The Pakistan Initiative for Strategic Development and Competitiveness (PISDAC) project aims at increasing the competitiveness of Pakistani small- and medium-sized enterprises. Sectors currently covered under the project are gems, jewelry, dairy, horticulture, surgical supplies, furniture, and marble granite. The project has focused on several prominent Pakistani industries and formed six strategic working groups composed of business people from the industries that develop sector-specific strategies. FY-2007 funding for PISDAC was $2.0 million.

USAID supports the Government of Pakistan's education reform strategy by: (1) strengthening education policy and planning; (2) improving the skills and performance of teachers and administrators; (3) increasing youth and adult literacy; (4) expanding public-private partnerships; and (5) providing school improvement grants and involving parents and communities in public schools.