interesting timing...just coincidental
or, incentive to “hurry up and arrest those responsible for the Time Square bombing”?
May 5, 2010
KARACHI: Pakistan’s central bank said on Wednesday it had received $468 million from the United States in compensation for some of its costs in battling militancy.
The US embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday it had released $656 million to Pakistan from its so-called coalition support fund (CSF) for some costs incurred last year, with $188 million transferred last week and another $468 million on Monday.
“We received $468 million last night,” said Syed Wasimuddin, chief spokesman for the State Bank of Pakistan.
The bank said on Tuesday it had received the first $188 million last Friday.
The CSF is a US programme to reimburse allies that have incurred costs in supporting counter-terrorist and counter-insurgency operations.
Pakistan’s role in the battle against militants has been highlighted in recent days with the arrest in the United States of a Pakistani-American in connection with a botched car bomb in New York’s Times Square.
The US funds come at an important time for cash-strapped Pakistan which is in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the release of a fifth tranche of an $11.3 billion loan.
The IMF board is expected to meet in mid-May to consider the fifth tranche of the loan, worth about $1.15 billion. The IMF has been pressing Pakistan to increase electricity tariffs and implement a value-added tax.
The central bank said the $188 million will be reflected in foreign exchange data to be released on Thursday, covering the week that ended on April 30. The remaining $468 million will be reflected in data to be released next week.
Foreign exchange reserves eased to $14.98 billion in the week that ended on April 23.
Foreign reserves hit a record high of $16.5 billion in October 2007 but fell steadily to $6.6 billion by November 2008, largely because of a soaring import bill.
US mounts pressure on Pakistan over NY plot
By Anwar Iqbal
Thursday, 06 May, 2010
WASHINGTON: In a series of meetings with and telephone calls to President Asif Ali Zardari and other Pakistani leaders, senior US officials have informed Islamabad that the failed attempt to bomb New York’s Times Square had ‘clear links’ with Pakistan, the US State Department said on Wednesday.
“The purpose of the meetings was to inform Pakistan that there are clear links to Pakistan and that we would fully expect them to do what they should do and what they have been doing,” Assistant Secretary of State Philip J. Crowley told a briefing in Washington.
(snip)
Mr Crowley, who looks after public affairs at the State Department, said that US Ambassador Anne Patterson had meetings with President Zardari and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi in Islamabad on Wednesday. She also spoke with Interior Minister Rahman Malik.
US special envoy Richard Holbrooke also had a conversation with Foreign Minister Qureshi on Wednesday morning.
The State Department said that Ambassador Patterson would continue to have meetings with senior Pakistani officials in the coming days to work collectively on this investigation.
Asked if the US administration was pleased with the outcome of these meetings, Mr Crowley said: “I think it’s more a matter of what we do from this point forward.”
(snip)
Mr Crowley said that the attempt to bomb Times Square had “international implications” and the United States expected Pakistan to help explore those implications.
Asked why was he confident that Pakistan would fulfil its pledge to cooperate with the United States in investigating the bombing attempt, the State Department official said: “Rest assured that Pakistan understands that this investigation is important to the United States, it is important to Pakistan, based on very strong political commitments, we are confident that we can work through those issues together.”