US Congress is ready to forward $700 bn defence budget to president

WASHINGTON: The US Congress is ready to forward a nearly $700 billion defence budget for the next fiscal year to the president to sign into law, offering $350 million to Pakistan under the CSF.

The 2018 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) was passed through both the chambers of the Congress by a voice vote this week. The bill offers at least $350 million to Pakistan under Coalition Support Fund, contingent upon certification from the Secretary of Defence that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network. The amount authorised is for the period beginning October 1 this year and ending on December 31, next year.

The bill lays out rules saying that the certification requires to confirm that, "Pakistan continues to conduct military operations that are contributing to significantly disrupting the safe havens, fundraising and recruiting efforts, and freedom of movement of the Haqqani Network in Pakistan." It emphasises to certify that, "The government of Pakistan is making an attempt to actively coordinate with the government of Afghanistan to restrict the movement of militants, such as the Haqqani Network, along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; and Pakistan has shown progress in arresting and prosecuting senior leaders and mid-level operatives of the Haqqani Network."

The rules are entirely focused on action against the Haqqani Network and took out Lashkar-e-Taiba from the proposal. In the process, at least three amendments were proposed and adopted that were introduced by Congressmen Dana Rohrabacher and Ted Poe. Both have had strong views on Pakistan in the past. "The Congress took a step forward to end Pakistan's betrayal of the US with the addition of an additional certification requirement," alleged Poe this week. Congressman Poe is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.

To iron out differences with Pakistan, US military leadership is expected to visit Islamabad in a few weeks, after the White House signs off on the NDAA bill. On the other hand, it asks the Pentagon to chart out a strategy to strengthen defence relations with India. The two countries should work closely with Afghanistan to promote stability in the region, it says.