Washington – The United States expects Pakistan to launch more military strikes on Islamic militants along its border with Afghanistan even as the Bush administration pumps hundreds of millions of dollars in development aid into lawless tribal regions to fight extremism.
Senior U.S. officials said Tuesday that the administration will back the military efforts of Pakistan’s president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, to quell a resurgence of al-Qaeda and Taliban activity in frontier provinces. But the U.S. will continue aid to the provinces’ impoverished residents, the officials said.
Washington plans to spend $750 million on education, health and economic projects in the tribal areas over the next five years and is hoping to find an additional $300 million to $350 million in the coming year to help revamp Pakistan’s beleaguered 85,000-member Frontier Corps that patrols the border.
While a civilian “hearts and minds campaign” may offer the best long-term solution to combating extremists in the region, “some elements have to be dealt with militarily,” said Richard Boucher, the assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs.
In Islamabad, a powerful blast at the site where the embattled former chief justice of the Supreme Court was scheduled to speak Tuesday evening killed at least 13 people and injured 39, according to the police.
