Updated on
Summary
Senator John Kerry expressed hope that a giant US aid package would ease widespread anti-Americanism in Pakistan as a poll showed a vast majority in the Islamic nation resented the US military. Congress gave the final go-ahead to a five-year, 7.5 billion dollar package to build schools, roads and democratic institutions in the frontline nation in the US-led campaign against Islamic extremism. Kerry, the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the aid plan marked a turning point by responding to the needs of Pakistan's people rather than just the government. It's no secret that the relationship between our countries has suffered its share of strains. Many Pakistanis believe that the United States has exploited them for strategic goals, Kerry said at a congressional hearing. The reason we did this is specifically to try to build a relationship with the people to show that what we want is a relationship that meets their interests and needs, Kerry said. But he conceded that the package was not a panacea and said that more investment and policy changes were needed to put US-Pakistani relations on track. In the end, only Pakistanis will define the future of that relationship, Kerry said. At the same time, 86 percent agreed that Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants posed a problem for Pakistan and more than two-thirds supported a recent Pakistani army offensive on extremists.
