"I
have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain
provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation and prosecution of
suspected terrorists," Obama said in a statement last evening after
signing the bill in Hawaii, where the First Family is currently on the year-end vacation.
The
USD 662-billion defence authorisation bill for the year 2012, among
other things, seeks to suspend 60 per cent of USD 1.1 billion military
aid to Pakistan -- under the category Pakistan Counter-insurgency Fund -
till Secretaries of State and Defence report to the Congress that
Islamabad is making progress in the war on terror, particularly progress
in strategies to counter manufacturing of improvised explosive devices
(IEDs).
IEDs, which are mostly manufactured in Pakistan in its illicit factories, are one of the largest factors responsible for the death of American troops in Afghanistan.
However,
Obama in his signing statement made no reference to this provision of
the bill, which had drawn widespread condemnation in Pakistan and put another strain in US-Pakistan relationship.
The Obama administration has maintained that the bill under no circumstances results in suspension of US military aid to Pakistan; as being interpreted by the Pakistani media.
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