US pressing to be part of terror ops on Pak territory

A US paper quoted an American official as saying that the White House has started conditioning the award of billions of dollars in security assistance to Pakistan on joint military operation against al Qaeda and its militant allies.The US has prepared a secret score-card for the preservation of his vested interests which has been implemented after an operation launched against Osama bin Ladin.In future, Pakistan would get strategic assistance on this base.According to journal report, the US would not restore Pakistan’s assistance until it is satisfied with the performance done by the government of Pakistan.The U.S. also is asking Pakistan to take specific steps to ease bilateral tensions.The classified system, put in place after the U.S. raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden at his Pakistani hideout, signals a shift by the White House toward a pay-for-performance relationship with Pakistan, as doubts grow that the two countries can for now forge a broader alliance based on shared interests.A senior military official called the unusual new approach a hard-knuckled reflection of where we are right now in relations. U.S. officials cited the sharp breakdown in counterterrorism cooperation that followed the bin Laden raid in May and the arrest of a Central Intelligence Agency contractor in Pakistan this year.The new approach represents an effort to salvage as much counterterrorism cooperation as the Obama administration can at a time when top U.S. officials believe themselves in a race against time to deal a deathblow to al Qaedas remaining leadership in Pakistan.Since 2001, the U.S. has lurched from one policy to another in an attempt to win Pakistans help in fighting al Qaeda and its allies, only to find itself frustrated by what the U.S. sees as Islamabads double-game in accepting American aid—more than $20 billion since the 9/11 attacks—while still providing clandestine support to some of Americas enemies.U.S. aid to Pakistan, including economic and security-related assistance, totaled nearly $4.5 billion in fiscal 2010. Security aid accounted for more than $2.7 billion of that, according to the Congressional Research Service.Officials say the White House has already frozen some $800 million in security assistance to Pakistan in recent months because of factors that include Islamabads refusal to readmit American trainers and military personnel who process Pakistani reimbursement claims—items that fall into categories on the U.S. performance checklist.The system isnt hard and fast—reflecting the volatile nature of the relationship, U.S. officials said. Total aid spending for this fiscal year isnt yet available—security aid is expected to total around $2.5 billion, congressional officials say—and the final amount that may be withheld will depend on the level of Pakistani cooperation and how aggressive the White House decides to be in withholding funds.The White House is responding in part to mounting calls in Congress for putting stringent new conditions on future aid to Pakistan, officials say. Many lawmakers have demanded sharp cuts in military assistance.They say the discovery that bin Laden had been living so close to the Pakistani capital for years fueled the U.S. belief that al Qaeda and other anti-American militant groups have received secret protection or support from elements within the countrys military-intelligence agencies.While U.S. security assistance to Pakistan—such as military equipment, training and reimbursement for Pakistani military operations against militants—has been tied to progress completing items on the U.S. checklist, U.S. civilian economic and development aid to Pakistan isnt affected, U.S. officials said.