'N', PPP to scrap 17th Amend: US

ISLAMABAD - The United States Wednesday announced to extend an extra $200 million in emergency aid to Pakistan for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and said it would not leave Pakistan in lurch.
After meeting President Asif Zardari, US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke told a joint news conference with the President and Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi that the United States was seeking an additional US $200 million to help the IDPs.
He said the US government was set to provide an additional $200 million in urgent humanitarian assistance to aid IDPs in NWFP.
Holbrooke said, Today, the US President has asked me to inform you and your government that he has requested the Congress to allocate an additional 200 million dollars for Pakistan. Our delegation has come at very short notice at the personal instructions of President Obama, the US envoy said.
He sent our team to Pakistan to do several things, first to show our concern to the people of Pakistan and to the world and secondly to show our concern for the internal refugees, he added. He assured that US would provide additional assistance to the government of Pakistan in the hour of need.
Referring to US assistance of $310 million, which he said was half of the world assistance, Holbrooke urged the international community to extend more help and cooperation to Pakistan in that regard. He said special efforts had been made to involve Pak-American community in relief efforts for IDPs and announced that 15 lady doctors were coming to Pakistan very soon to work in IDPs camps.
Responding to a query about the use of American weapons by the terrorists in restive areas of Malakand, he said it was a common phenomenon that during insurgencies such weapons were used.
About the military action in Swat and Malakand, he said Pakistan and US had same perception on the issue, and the action taken by Pakistan was necessary and essential.
Replying to another question, he said people living in the camps were fed up with militancy and extremism and wanted to get rid of these elements.
Ambassador Holbrooke said that reconstruction phase would be very important and critical and assured full American support in that phase. I hope people of Pakistan will understand our countrys leading role in responding quickly in this hour of need. President Obama is personally involved in it as US really cares for Pakistan, he added.
President Asif Ali Zardari said that Pakistan was committed to defend its territory from militants. We are committed to defend and wherever there is threat, we will follow it, President said in response to a question about military action in Waziristan and other areas.
Replying to a question about winning the war against militants, President Zardari said anything to say in that regard was too early. We are fighting war of ideology. We have a war where we have hearts and minds to win. Once we win hearts and minds of the people of the region, we can say that we have progressed, he added.
In the opening statement read out by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, he commended US for its support to Pakistan and said that Pakistan was appreciative of this US gesture. He said that the present democratic government had made sincere efforts to build national consensus and way forward to fight militancy. He said all the mainstream political parties had supported the fight against militancy in Swat and Malakand.
He said that in just three weeks, Pakistani military had succeeded in making the militants on the run. Pakistani people had lost heavily both in human and economic terms, he added. Under the dynamic leadership of President Asif Ali Zardari, we will succeed in defeating terrorism and extremism, the Foreign Minister said.
During his visit, Holbrooke will visit camps, schools, distribution sites and medical units, and meet IDPs and local families housing internally displaced persons in the areas affected by the ongoing military operation. He will also meet the representatives of federal, provincial and local governments, relief organisations, doctors, and villagers.
The assistance, announced by Holbrooke, will be used to purchase items such as hygiene kits, basic medicines, potable water, household items and clothing for the IDPs. Apart from providing humanitarian assistance, the donation will be used to support reconstruction and development efforts within the affected areas.
Agencies add: Richard Holbrooke said the heads of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party and main opposition PML-N have agreed to scrap the presidents sweeping powers under the 17th constitutional amendment. The US special envoy said that President Zardari and Nawaz Sharif have agreed to revoke the 17th Amendment.
Talking to a private TV channel on board his plane on Wednesday, the US special envoy said United States has no reservations on the statements issued by the PPP and PML-N over the issue of 17th Amendment. There is no difference of opinion between Nawaz Sharif and Asif Zardari on this issue, he said.
Holbrooke said the Obama administration is disturbed by the release of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed. He expressed reservations over the release of Saeed. His release has disturbed us all, he told the TV channel.
He renewed backing for the military operation in the Swat Valley and other areas and said that Pakistan must curb militancy. The current military operation against the militants is a must, he told the TV channel.
Holbrooke, who is scheduled to visit refugee camps in Pakistan, said Pakistan had done what it should.
Holbrooke said that the 110 million US dollar aid for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) was not sufficient and the US government would increase this amount. He said that the Muslim countries had not provided sufficient assistance to Pakistan in this time of crisis.
He was of the view that the Organisation of the Islamic Conference should extend their cooperation to Pakistan, so that the problems facing it could be reduced. Hailing the efforts of the Pakistani government against the militants, Holbrooke said that it had taken all the steps in positive manner and it had done its duty.
He said that the US government would provide more military assistance to Pakistan and in this regard four new MI helicopters would soon be provided to Pakistan. He said that the US would also provide night vision cameras to Pakistan.
Reuters/AFP add: The United States on Wednesday strongly criticised the release by the Lahore High Court of Jamaat-ud-Daawa chief Hafiz Saeed. In the aftermath of the November Mumbai attacks we made very clear that there is an international responsibility to cooperate and to bring the perpetrators to justice and that Pakistan has a special responsibility to do so, transparently, fully and urgently, said State Department spokesman Robert Wood in Washington.
Pakistan has said it is committed to fighting terrorism, understood the urgency and had promised strong action against those responsible, he added.
The White House said Al-Qaeda was trying to distract the Muslim world from US President Barack Obamas historic outreach effort, with the release of a new Osama bin Laden tape.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the Obama Administration has not yet had the opportunity to review the audio tape by the Al-Qaeda leader, aired on the Al-Jazeera satellite network.
But he said it appeared to be consistent with messages in the past in which Al-Qaeda has threatened the US and other countries. Gibbs said he didnt think it was surprising that Al-Qaeda would want to shift attention away from the presidents historic efforts to have an open dialogue with the Muslim world.