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Pakistan, India Welcome Lifting of Sanctions
ISLAMABAD, Sept 23 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Pakistan and India welcomed Sunday the U.S. decision to waive sanctions imposed after the two South Asian rivals staged tit-for-tat nuclear weapons tests in 1998, news agencies reported.
The response was more effusive in Islamabad, where the government's efforts to pull the country back from the brink of bankruptcy had been hampered by the sanctions' economic impact, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"This is a positive move and I think we appreciate it very much," Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said in an interview with CNN.
A Pakistan Foreign Ministry statement said the sanctions had always been "unjustified", but added that their lifting would help strengthen cooperation with Washington.
In waiving the sanctions Saturday, U.S. President George W. Bush said their continuation was no longer in the national security interest of the U.S.
India and Pakistan had been strongly lobbying for the lifting of the measures, which restricted military sales and financial and economic assistance.
Both sides are expected to play a key role in a "war on terrorism" declared by the United States in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks on New York and Washington that left more than 6,800 people dead or missing.
Indian Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha welcomed the sanctions' waiver, but added it was not a "development of earth-shaking importance."
"It's a minor issue as far as the Indian economy is concerned because sanctions have spent themselves out," Singh told the Press Trust of India.
"As far as the Indian economy itself was concerned, except for certain defense supplies, sanctions had no meaning," he added.
On Pakistan's part, Aziz insisted that the move should not be seen as a reward for Pakistan's support for possible U.S. military strikes on Afghanistan, where the ruling Taliban regime has rejected repeated U.S. demands to hand over Osama bin Laden - suspected by the U.S. to be the mastermind behind the terror attacks.
"There is no question of a payback. This is just a reflection of a better understanding of our views," Aziz said.
While tough austerity measures introduced by the military government of President Pervez Musharraf have kept the national economy afloat, Pakistan is still in dire need of international assistance.
"What [the sanctions waiver] means is that the United States can now support us very directly in multi-national institutions like the International Monetary Fund, Asian Development Bank and the World Bank," Aziz said.
The move also opens the door to U.S. companies looking to invest in Pakistan's textile and oil and gas sectors, and reopens connections with the U.S. Exim Bank.
"In terms of buying commercial aircraft, machinery ... etc, Pakistani entrepreneurs can now look to the U.S. as a source of supply. This would create investment here, create jobs and help the common man," Aziz said.
Pakistan has more than $30 billion in external debt and Islamabad is expected to sign an agreement here on Monday on rescheduling $600 million worth in U.S. loans.
In India, the move is likely to be greeted with a sigh of relief by a large number of major corporations who have been denied access to crucial technologies.
"There are 51 companies which had been classified under an entities list who will be able to get technology," said Commodore Uday Bhaskar, deputy director of the Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis.
These companies had been stopped from gaining technology classified by the U.S. as "dual use" - capable of both commercial and military applications.
Pakistan first faced U.S. sanctions under the Symington amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act in 1961 due to concerns over its nuclear program. The U.S. Congress later lifted most restrictions.
In 1990, all U.S. military and economic aid to Pakistan was suspended under the Pressler Amendment, which required the president to annually certify that Islamabad did "not possess a nuclear explosive device".
A separate set of measures to punish Musharraf for overthrowing the elected government of Nawaz Sharif in a military coup in October 1999 will only be lifted when democracy is restored, AFP reported.
"We hope in time all sanctions will be removed," Aziz said.
The lifting of sanctions is the clearest example of how the rest of U.S. foreign policy - in this case fears of nuclear proliferation - is being subordinated to the fight against terrorism, BBC's online service reported.
The announcement followed a day of intense activity as U.S. forces massed in the Gulf and Indian Ocean for a possible strike against Afghanistan.
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