Kerry-Lugar Bill a straitjacket to straighten insane Pakistan? India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The recently approved Kerry-Lugar Bill, which will provide Pakistan economic aid worth 1.5 billion dollars per year for the next five years, is a ‘straitjacket’, as it has many restrictions attached to it, The Nation opines. According to the paper, a straitjacket is a garment of strong material used to bind the body, closely restraining the movements of a violent, usually insane, person who could harm himself or others. The paper says that the Kerry-Lugar Bill straitjacket is designed to prevent the country from 'harming itself or others'. The US aid will flow 'only' when the Pakistan complies with following restrictions: # Pakistani military or its intelligence agency cease support to terrorist groups that has conducted attacks against the US or its coalition forces in Afghanistan or the people of neighbouring countries. # Pakistan prevents Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad from operating in its territory of Pakistan, including cross-border raids into neighbouring countries. # Pakistan dismantled terrorist camps in FATA, and is dismantling terrorist bases in other parts of the country including Quetta and Muridke. # Pakistan strengthens counter-terrorist and anti-money laundering laws. # Pakistani security forces do not materially and substantially subvert the political or judicial processes of the country. # Pakistan continues to cooperate with the United States in an effort to dismantle supplier networks relating to the acquisition of nuclear weapon related materials, providing direct access to Pakistani nationals (e.g. A Q Khan) associated with such networks. The opinion concludes that either the Pakistan Government has been ignorant to the contents of the bill or it has vehemently surrendered to the American dictation. The paper questioned: “Is the real government of this country is in Washington DC and what we have in Islamabad is a local body, reporting to and answerable to the former.”