Obama Administration seeks wartime authority for military commanders in dealing with Pak

Washington, May 2 (ANI):The Obama administration is pushing for a new proposal which would give the US Central Command (CENTCOM) a wartime authority to deal with Pakistan.

The new proposal, if accepted by the US Congress, would give the military commanders the same total authority that they enjoy in Iraq and Afghanistan's war zones.

It would also enable the CENTCOM to surpass the State Department and other US Departments while taking decisions about the providing any military assistance to Pakistan.

According to the Dawn, US Secretary of Defence Robert Gates recently revealed the blueprint of the new strategy during a congressional hearing, and asked the Senators to approve the proposed military aid to Pakistan with a sense of wartime urgency.

The programme would also enable CENTCOM chief General David Petraeus to control all the military funds for Pakistan that the US has earmarked for counterinsurgency training and for providing sophisticated equipments.

The United States is planning to provide 400 million dollars to Pakistan in the current fiscal year itself. The Obama Administration is seeking to provide Islamabad a total of three billion dollars over the next five years in aid. (ANI)