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‘Pakistan has receievd $1bn a year since 9/11’

* Patterson says money is transferred to Finance Ministry rather than to security forces

KARACHI: The United States has been providing almost a billion dollars annually to reimburse Pakistan for its fight against militancy since 2001, US Ambassador to Pakistan Anne W Patterson said on Thursday.

Talking to members of the Management Association of Pakistan (MAP), she said Pakistan was now the third largest recipient of the US assistance in the world.

Finance Ministry: “Contrary to what you may see in the press, this money does not go directly to security services, but is deposited in the central government’s account,” Patterson said, adding that in other words it was a direct cash transfer to the Ministry of Finance.

“Our objective in providing this assistance is simple and clear,” she said, pointing out that a stable, democratic and prosperous Pakistan, free of militant extremism, would make the US safer and more prosperous.

The ambassador said Pakistan was a critically important country for the US. “Important to our security, important to our relations with others in the Muslim world, and important to America’s continued economic success,” she said.

Patterson said the US was trying to conduct its policy and programmes in Pakistan in a transparent manner.

“We want people to know and understand varied ways in which the US is engaged,” she said.

She said the US also wanted to dispel rumours that it only worked with the Pakistani military. app

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