The Hindu : U.S. lifts sanctions on Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Mar 26, 2004

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U.S. lifts sanctions on Pakistan

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MARCH 25. In a move that clears the way for millions of dollars in direct economic assistance, the United States President, George W. Bush, has lifted the sanctions against Pakistan imposed after the 1999 bloodless coup that brought Pervez Musharraf to power.

In a memorandum to the Secretary of State on the decision to waive military coup-related provisions of foreign operations, export financing and related appropriations for programmes, Mr. Bush has issued a waiver saying that this would "facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan and is important to the United States efforts to respond to, deter or prevent acts of international terrorism."

This follows the Bush administration's decision last week to give a new status to Pakistan as a major non-NATO ally which would, among other things, make it easy for Islamabad to acquire American weapons. Most of the sanctions imposed on Pakistan after the 1998 nuclear tests have also been lifted.

For some time now, Washington has been praising the Musharraf Government's fight against terror, especially as operations on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have been stepped up to nab the terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden, and destroy his Al-Qaeda network.

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