WASHINGTON: Several US senators on Thursday vowed to impose conditions on proposed military assistance to Pakistan, saying that past aid had been delivered without strings attached.Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee issued the warning to the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, who was grilled over an administration request for 400 million dollars to help Islamabad with counter-insurgency operations against Islamist militants.”There is a significant unease here in Congress over what has happened previously in the transfer of our funds,” Democrat John Kerry, chairman of the committee, told the admiral.The senator said that under the previous administration, there was little accountability for billions of dollars” worth of military assistance for Pakistan.”Many of us did not learn until last year some time that for those six or seven years that the prior administration was transferring very significant sums of money to Pakistan, we didn”t have a clue where it was going,” Kerry said.”And we learned subsequently that most of it was going into their general budget. That is not going to fly here and they need to know that,” he said.Kerry and other senators said they had proposed legislation that would ensure “adequate levels of scrutiny, accountability.”Senator Jim Webb, a Democrat from Virginia, said he had introduced an amendment that would prohibit the funds from being used to support the development or deployment of Pakistan’’s nuclear weapons.President Barack Obama’’s administration is asking for 400 million dollars to bolster Pakistan’’s counter-insurgency resources as part of a supplemental budget request for 2009.The administration hopes to secure 700 million dollars for the same program for fiscal year 2010, officials said.The “Pakistan counter-insurgency capability fund” would be managed by the head of Central Command, General David Petraeus, who oversees the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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A US offensive in Afghanistan could push Taliban fighters deeper into Pakistan, the top US commander warns.
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LAHORE: Federal Minister for Industries and Production Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo has said that only locally-made tractors would be provided to farmers
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ISLAMABAD: The government will abolish five per cent federal excise duty on sale of locally manufactured automobiles to help the industry improve its
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Several US senators on Thursday vowed to impose conditions on proposed military assistance to Pakistan, saying that past aid had been delivered without strings attached.
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CENTURION: Manish Pandey blitzed the highest score of the 2009 Indian Premier League Thursday to guide Bangalore Royal Challengers to a 12-run victory over Deccan Chargers and third place in the final standings. The result means Deccan play table-toppers Delhi Daredevils in the first semi-final at Centurion Friday while Bangalore take on Chennai Super Kings in Johannesburg the following afternoon. Pandey batted through the innings after Bangalore won the toss and elected to wield the willow first, finishing with an unbeaten 114 off just 73 balls as the Challengers posted a formidable 170-4 total. It was a remarkable effort from the little-known 19-year-old, who took advantage of being dropped on two by RP Singh to score only the second century of the Twenty20 extravaganza this season. “It was a brilliant hundred,” reflected Bangalore skipper Anil Kumble. “Manish got a few opportunities but didn”t get to bat in the other games because he was down the order.”So we just took a chance and sent him up the order and he came off really well.”Deccan got off to a flying start in pursuit of their hefty target with Herschelle Gibbs leading the way, and at the halfway stage were perfectly poised on 85 for the loss of one wicket.But after Gibbs departed for 60, caught in the deep by Pandey off the bowling of Balachandra Akhil, Andrew Symonds (18) fell soon after and the innings unraveled.Impressive bowling displays from Kumble (2-23) and medium pacer Akhil (2-18) sealed victory and ensured Bangalore enjoy a one-day rest while Deccan face the dangerous Daredevils.”We weren”t as sharp as what we”d have liked to have been, so it was bit disappointing in that regard,” admitted Chargers captain Adam Gilchrist. “It would have been nice to have a positive result leading into the semi-finals, but it starts again tomorrow.”
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LAHOREPunjab IGP Tariq Saleem Dogar on Thursday took serious notice of the charges of corruption, misconduct and dereliction of duties and sus
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LAHORE: Pakistan pulled fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar out of next month’’s World Twenty20 tournament in England due to injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board s
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KARACHI: Mohammad Yousuf has met with Pakistan board officials and is confident of a rapid return to test cricket following his resignation from the r
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LAHORE/LONDON: Venues in Ireland and Scotland are in the running to host Pakistan’’s international matches against Australia next year, as the expense
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