US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates (C) talks to Chief of Army Staff Ashfaq Kayani as Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar listens before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi speak during the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue Plenary Session at the State Department in Washington, October 22. — Photo by Reuters

WASHINGTON: A better understanding of Pakistan’s defence needs in the US capital may soon lead to an additional $300-400 million of annual military assistance, besides a $2.029 billion package announced last week.

Diplomatic sources told Dawn that the money would come from the Pakistan Counter-insurgency Capability Fund set up to help the country fight terrorists along and inside the Pak-Afghan border. Last year, the House Appropriations Committee approved $400 million for the counter-insurgency fund.

In February this year, the Obama administration sought a $0.5 billion increase in funds to bolster Pakistan’s counter-insurgency capabilities.

The US administration was increasing the fund from $700 million in fiscal 2009 to $1.2 billion in the current fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1. Both the funds – the PCCF and the $2.029 billion package for purchasing US weapons – are continuation of previous five-year programmes. But amounts under both programmes have been increased.

The five-year package for military hardware and training has been increased from $1.5 billion, allocated in the previous package, to $2.029. There will be a similar increase in the PCCF.

During last week’s strategic dialogue, where the two packages were negotiated, the US also promised to reimburse $750 million of arrears from the Coalition Support Fund. But Pakistani officials, who participated in the dialogue, said that “the talks’ real achievement” was “a better understanding of Pakistan’s position on North Waziristan”.

The Pakistanis informed their American counterparts that they already had 39,000 troops in North Waziristan, more than those deployed in South Waziristan. Pakistan also assured the Americans that it’s willing to continue and even expedite ‘surgical operations’ against the militants in North Waziristan but was not in a position to launch a full-fledged military operations. Besides having physical limitations, the Pakistanis feel that the operation may prove counter-productive if conducted without proper preparation to consolidate the gains achieved in the battlefield.