By NNN-APP,
Washington : Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama has said former president Pervez Musharraf’s departure early this week is an opportunity for the United States to move away from an alliance based on relations with one man to forging broader relationship with Pakistan.
“We must move beyond an alliance built on mere convenience or a relationship with one man. Now, with President Musharraf’s resignation, we have the opportunity to do just that,” he said in a speech on the eve of Democratic Convention where he is to be formally nominated as the White House candidate of the party.
“That’s why I’ve cosponsored a bill to triple non-military aid to the Pakistani people, while ensuring that the military assistance we do provide is used to take the fight to the Taliban and al Qaeda,” he added. The senator was referring to Biden-Lugar legislation that seeks to expand U.S. assistance for socio-economic development in Pakistan to $ 1.5 billion annually over next decade.
Obama, who has received widespread flack from Republicans and Pakistan experts for his controversial suggestion on U.S. unilaterally hunting any al-Qaeda leaders that may be hiding on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border, criticized his rival Senator John McCain for backing the former Pakistani president, saying he failed to serve the interests of his people.
At the same time, Obama called for allocation of more resources and more troops to finish the fight against terrorists in Afghanistan.
“We need a policy of ‘more for more’ – more from America and our NATO allies, and more from the Afghan government. That’s why I’ve called for at least two additional U.S. combat brigades and an additional $1 billion in non-military assistance for Afghanistan, with a demand for more action from the Afghan government to take on corruption and counternarcotics, and to improve the lives of the Afghan people.”