Certification comes ahead of Obama’s India visit

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Pakistan this month, shortly after certifying the Pakistan government’s “action against” Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

The authorisation is likely to spark outrage in India. Mr. Kerry is >due to visit the Vibrant Gujarat summit, which begins in Gandhinagar on January 11, ahead of President Barack Obama’s >visit on January 24.

Mr. Kerry will lead the Strategic Dialogue in Islamabad later in January, the Pakistan Foreign Ministry announced this week.

Despite the fact that both the LeT and JeM have >resurfaced visibly in the past year in Pakistan and the founders of both, Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, have held public rallies in Pakistan in 2014, the U.S. Secretary of State has signed off on a certification that the Pakistan government has “prevented al-Qaeda, the Taliban and associated terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad from operating in the territory of Pakistan” for the year.

Civilian aid

The certificate is a condition for the U.S. to disburse funds under the >Kerry-Lugar Bill for civilian aid to Pakistan that was co-authored by Mr. Kerry in 2009. This year’s grant of $532 million to Pakistan will be disbursed shortly, as the Congress gave its nod to President Obama, the U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard Olson disclosed.

According to official agency APP, Mr. Olson met Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to finalise the agenda for Mr. Kerry’s upcoming visit . Significantly, the Kerry-Lugar Bill lapsed in September 2014, but only about half of the $7.5 billion outlay has been disbursed so far.

According to Section 203 of the Bill, which is formally called the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act (S.1707), there are limitations on clearing the annual $1.5 billion assistance to Pakistan based on actions in the “preceding financial year.”

The authorisation required is that the Pakistan government and military have “ceased support” to extremist and terror groups, that they have “prevented” groups like the LeT and JeM from operating in Pakistan, and carrying out attacks against its neighbours, while dismantling their bases in Muridke, FATA and Quetta.