Kerry-Lugar Pakistan aid bill postponed indefinitely

Senator John Kerry. —AP

WASHINGTON A US Senate panel has postponed indefinitely the much-awaited hearing on a proposal to triple economic assistance to Pakistan.The bipartisan Kerry-Lugar bill seeks $1.5 billion of annual assistance to Pakistan for a period of five years. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations had scheduled a full committee hearing on Wednesday but it had to be postponed for technical reasons.Later, a congressional aide told a news conference that the bill could be reintroduced as early as Wednesday afternoon or Thursday but on Thursday other congressional aides told reporters that the hearing has been postponed indefinitely.‘It will now be held after the April recess,’ said one aide. The recess ends on April 20.This will further delay the passage of the bill which has to be approved by the committee and a full Senate before it is sent to the House of Representatives.The House will hold its own hearing and resend the bill to the Senate. The two chambers then have to reconcile their respective bills before it could be sent to President Barack Obama for signature.This probably means that by the time the bill is passed, it would be too late to include its recommendations in the budget for the next financial year.