Pentagon would reimburse nearly $700 million to the South Asian country

Washington: In an effort to normalise support for the Pakistani military, the Pentagon would reimburse nearly $700 million to the South Asian country.

The Pentagon quietly notified Congress this month that it would reimburse Pakistan nearly $700 million for the cost of stationing 140,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan, an effort to normalize support for the Pakistani military after nearly two years of crises and mutual retaliation. The biggest proponent of putting foreign aid and military reimbursements to Pakistan on a steady footing is the man President Barack Obama is leaning toward naming as secretary of state: Senator John Kerry, Democrat of Massachusetts. Mr. Kerry, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has frequently served as an envoy to Pakistan, including after the killing of Osama bin Laden, and was a co-author of a law that authorised five years and about $7.5 billion of nonmilitary assistance to Pakistan. The United States also provides about $2 billion in annual security assistance, roughly half of which goes to reimburse Pakistan for conducting military operations to fight terrorism. Until now, many of these reimbursements, called coalition support funds, have been held up, in part because of disputes with Pakistan over the Bin Laden raid, the operations of the C.I.A., and its decision to block supply lines into Afghanistan last year. The $688 million payment   the first since this summer, covering food, ammunition and other expenses from June through November 2011   has caused barely a ripple of protest since it was sent to Capitol Hill on Dec. 7. http://rtilive.pk/detail/8015 Right to Information Pakistan Live, RTI Live, Information Pakistan, RTI online Research ORganization,pakistan,news pakistan, pakistan news,punjab,lahore,support for the Pakistani military, Pentagon , reimburse, South Asian country, nearly $700 million, reimburse Pakistan, President Barack Obama, Senator John Kerry, C.I.A,