Pat Dollard

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The Hill:

U.S. and Pakistani leaders are scrambling to save a $7.5 billion aid bill that Pakistani critics have derided as being too intrusive.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Pakistani Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mehmood Qureshi met Tuesday to discuss Pakistani concerns that the proposed infrastructure and education aid will be diverted to U.S. security firms and military drones.

Both men plan to meet again Wednesday.

Kerry defended the aid proposal against critics by emphasizing that the funds are for non-military aid, but pledged to specify the bill’s “true, legitimate” intent with the additional language that he said would have the force of law.

“It is clear from our discussion that the bill has not been characterized accurately in some quarters,” Kerry said. “So we will indeed over these next few hours make certain there is no capacity to mischaracterize or misinterpret.”

Qureshi said he was sent to Washington by Pakistani’s parliamentary leaders to head off the growing criticism in his country, and repeated a message he delivered recently to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that Pakistan will not accept impositions.

“The affairs that have been raised in Parliament need to be addressed … Pakistan will not compromise on its sovereignty. We will not allow micro-management,” Qureshi said. “The message is loud and clear, and it has been understood. We are going to work on this collectively to give it the correct interpretation.”

Kerry told The Hill that most of the criticism in Pakistan was political, although he conceded “some fear” among the military as well. He said the clarifications should ease those concerns.

“It’s politics, and different people are trying to play to the public in different ways, and so we just need to make sure there’s some clarity about what the bill seeks to do,” Kerry said. “There were some concerns in the military about some of the language, and I think there were some concerns in the Parliament that was exploited. The bottom line is, we have the ability to clarify it and we will.”

Kerry is scheduled to fly to Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday for about a week of meetings with leaders of the two countries.