Pakistan military, govt. divided on aid

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Pakistan's military and its opposition parties are attacking the $7.5 billion U.S. civilian aid package as interference in the country's internal affairs.

The aid package just approved by Congress will be spread over five years and is part of the Obama administration's policy to strengthen democracy in Pakistan, whose assistance is needed in the war effort in neighboring Afghanistan, the White House has said.

While it has the support of President Asif Ali Zardari's government, the aid package and its provisions have been widely criticized in Pakistan. The military and the opposition parties say they object to provisions that, The Washington Post reported, would require require the United States to monitor actions such as how Pakistani authorities spend the money and the way the military promotes senior officers.

"Obviously, it demonstrates we've still got work to do," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said in response to the Pakistani reaction, the Post said.

Pakistani Army Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, who met Tuesday with visiting Gen. Stanley McChrystal, expressed similar concerns to the commander of the U.S. and NAO forces in Afghanistan, the reort said.

Chaudry Nisar Ali Khan of the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League, was quoted as saying in Parliament that "not a single Pakistani can accept the (aid legislation) in its current form."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said the United States has no intention of interfering in Pakistan's internal affairs through the aid program.