ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s powerful military Wednesday rejected U.S. attempts to link billions of dollars in foreign aid to increased monitoring of its anti-terror efforts, complicating American attempts to strike al-Qaeda and the Taliban on the Afghan border.
Although the U.S.-backed government of President Asif Ali Zardari has the final say on whether to accept the money, the unusual public criticism threatens to force its hand and undermine military cooperation with the Americans.
Any breakdown in intelligence sharing and other types of cooperation would hurt the American fight against a resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan.
The military’s criticism of the bill came in a brief written statement that said senior commanders, including the army chief, “expressed serious concern regarding clauses impacting on national security.”
Among other strings, the bill conditions U.S. aid on whether the Pakistan government maintains effective control over the military, including its budgets, the chain of command and top promotions.
Some analysts said the military’s statement had little to do with genuine dislike of a bill that stands to help crumbling schools, roads and hospitals. They said the army was sending a message to the Pakistani and U.S. governments about the limits of civilian control in a country that’s been subject to military rule for nearly half of its 62-year history.
“The army’s public statement indicates that it is sending a message that says look, we are in charge of security issues,” said Cyril Almeida, a columnist for Dawn newspaper.
But Almeida and other analysts said that in the end Pakistan was unlikely to reject the aid.
“There’ll be a lot of noise, but at the end of the day the bill is about giving Pakistan money, and we need money and we’re probably going to take the money, but we’re going to do in a way which suggests that we’re taking it under protest.”
