President George Bush

Nov. 20 –– The United States Congress approved what is the biggest military aid package for Pakistan since 9/11.

A total of $300 million is earmarked for Islamabad in the latest spending bill Congress approved on Nov. 20, following President Bush’s commitment to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for toeing the line on the war on terror.

Gen. Pervez Musharraf

The $300 million was part of the foreign military financing program (H.R. 4818 Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2005) totaling more than $4.7 billion, a major chunk of which goes to Israel ($2.2 billion) and Egypt ($1.3 billion).

These were all part of the $388 billion spending bill the lame duck Congress passed before going into recess but certain elements in the bill regarding tax returns, held up the bill a little longer into the week.

The spending bill had been battling its way through Congress until Nov. 20 when the Senate passed it 65-30 and the House by 344-51.

The fact that assistance to Pakistan survived when several social programs in education, environment, labor and other areas were cut to keep the budget lean shows Washington lawmakers’ believe Islamabad is important for strategic goals.

Just last week, the White House, much to India’s dismay, informed Congress it planned to offer more than a billion dollars in arms to Pakistan.

This includes Islamabad’s request for P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft, anti-armor guided missiles and Phalanx Close-in Weapons Systems for its warships, according to the Pakistani newspaper Dawn.

The Congress also passed a bill for assistance to Afghanistan.