Clinton unveils $500 million in aid for Pakistan

Islamabad: The United States of America further loosened its purse strings for Pakistan with secretary of state Hillary Rodham Clinton announcing more than $500 million worth of development projects for this embattled nation on Monday. The projects will help improve water storage, the energy sector, food exports and medical facilities in this nation with a struggling economy.

The funds are part of a $7.5-billion five-year development package passed by the US Congress last year that aims at improving the US image in Pakistan, a key ally in its fight against terrorism that is primarily focussed on this region.

"I know that there is a perception held by too many Pakistanis that American commitment to them begins and ends with security," Clinton said in her opening statement at the second US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue in Islamabad.

"That this misperception has persisted for so long tells us that we have not done a good enough job of connecting our partnership with concrete improvements in the lives of Pakistanis," Clinton said. "We are working hard to change that."

On a two-day visit to Islamabad Clinton is scheduled to leave for Kabul late on Monday to attend an international donors conference on Afghanistan.

The majority of the aid announced Monday - around $270 million - is allocated for dam irrigation projects in rural areas and improving water storage in two cities, including Peshawar, regional capital of the militancy-hit north-western province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.