After much delay the US Senate has finally passed the Kerry-Lugar Bill providing Pakistan up to 1.5 billion dollars a year in aid for next five years. The bill will now go for approval to the Congress before the expected aid could flow into Pakistan. The government of President Zardari has touted the passage of the bill as a great achievement of his administration.

But the stringent conditionality attached to the aid package has raised several questions about its long-term implications for the country’s sovereignty. The aid is conditional to Islamabad’s adherence to a policy framework drawn by the US administration. It encompasses almost every sphere from foreign to domestic policies. According to the bill, the Secretary of State will have to certify every six months that Pakistan has been strictly following the guidelines.

It is true that foreign aid does not come without strings, but such intrusive conditionality indicates a high degree of mistrust of Pakistan, despite it being a key US ally in the region. The aid is linked to Pakistan’s “ceasing support, including by any elements within the Pakistan military or its intelligence agency, to extremist and terrorist groups, particularly to any group that has conducted attacks against United States or coalition forces in Afghanistan, or against the territory of neigbouring countries.”

This clause of the bill presupposes that Pakistani military and its intelligence are patronising the terrorist groups. It is almost putting into dock the military, which is the frontline force in the battle against terrorism. It is almost putting the military into an adversarial position. Does the Zardari government accept this US view about the country’s security agencies? Where does it put Pakistani security forces if the government accepts this conditionality? It is certainly going to create a huge wedge between the civil and military leadership.

It also requires Pakistan to “dismantle terrorist bases in Quetta and Muridke and taking actions when provided with intelligence about high-level terrorist targets.” It again presupposes that such bases are operating in those towns implicitly with the connivance of intelligence agencies. Does the Zardari government agree with this premise? Accepting this conditional aid would give the US administration a free hand in determining what policies Pakistan should pursue. The Kerry-Lugar bill is a recipe for disaster and would further widen the gulf between the so-called allies. It would lead to a master-and-client relationship, completely compromising Pakistan’s political sovereignty.