U.S. to announce aid package to Pakistan: official

Pakistan's Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani (R)meets with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, July 18, 2010. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has arrived in Islamabad on Sunday on a two-day visit to consult with Pakistani leaders on bilateral and regional issues, according to local media reports. (Xinhua Photo/Zeeshan Niazi)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who has arrived here on Sunday for a two-day visit to Pakistan will announce on Monday a massive aid deal for Pakistan, a local media The News quoted a senior U.S. official as saying.

The money will focus on vital energy and water sectors, said the official, adding that full details of the projects would be announced on Monday.

According to the official, the projects will be part of a five- year, 7.5-billion-dollar aid package approved by U.S. Congress last year, which hopes to temper anti-Americanism in Pakistan by building schools, infrastructure and democratic institutions.

Under the aid package, several water dam projects will be built in the water-shortage country and three hospitals in Karachi, Lahore and Jacobabad will be renovated and expanded.

Two specific programs are to be devoted to agriculture, one for the training of farmers in dairy production, and the other to increase production and export of mangoes, disclosed the official.


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