The US House of Representatives with the Republican-majority passed the US $643 bn defence authorization bill for 2013 defying the White House veto threat.
The Bill places some conditions for American aid to Pakistan.
As per the Bill:
- US economic and military aid to Pakistan should be based on Islamabad’s action against terrorists and Improved Explosives Devices attacks.
- The Bill prohibits preferential procurement of goods or services from Pakistan till Islamabad re-opens the crucial NATO supply routes to Afghanistan. The routes were closed after the death of 24 Pakistani soldiers on November 26, 2011 in a NATO cross-border fire.
- The bill also necessitates the construction of an East Coast missile defence system in the United States by the end of 2015 and has budgeted 100 million dollars for this.
- The White House had held that conditions and certification regarding aid to Pakistan will be counter-productive. The Bill now heads for a showdown with the Democrat-majority Senate.