Today leaders in Washington voiced their approval at the military offense launched by the Pakistani military to route out Taliban militants in northwest Pakistan. Now it is time for the Pakistani government to receive their reward from the US government in Washington for their compliance.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Michael Mullen flew to Pakistan twice over the last two weeks to meet with Pakistani leaders. Shortly after his visit Pakistani military launched an offensive to drive out the Taliban militants who had gained control of the Buner region as well as the Swat Valley in northwestern Pakistan.

The Obama administration is now determined to reward the government in Islamabad by speeding up a portion of an aid package, approximately $1 billion dollars to Pakistan. The complete aid package, which is worth $1.8 billion was not initially scheduled to come up for a vote in Congress until the fall of this year.

Part of the aid would go toward what are called Reconstruction Opportunity Zones. These zones would be used for businesses to manufacture consumer goods that would then be sold in the United States without any duties.
The White House is looking to push for a vote in Congress during a visit to Washington by leaders of Pakistan and Afghanistan to meet with President Obama. These meetings are scheduled to take place on May 6-7.

If Congress is uncooperative with the Administration’s agenda of fast tracking the aid package, officials within the White House told the Wall Street Journal that the White House could resort to “executive branch mechanisms” to get the money to Pakistan in short order.

The best selling point for the aid package so far seems to be Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari proclaiming that Pakistan’s nuclear weapons are in safe hands, but his cash strapped country needs more funding from the US to make sure the nuclear weapons remain in safe hands. Zadari went one step further and has asked the entire Western community to pledge more money on top of the already $5 billion pledged at a donor conference just weeks ago.

Gordon Brown has pledged $14.6 million for schools in the border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
On the other side of the conflict is the Taliban, who have said through spokesmen such as Amir Izzat Khan that the peace deal they signed with the government in Islamabad is worthless because the leaders are simply puppets controlled by Washington.

A spokesman for the Taliban who is close to Sufi Mohammed, a cleric who worked the peace deal with the Pakistani government, said late Monday, “We will not hold any talks until the operation ends.” This is a key statement because if this is indeed the case and the Taliban attempt to hold their ground and fight to the death the clashes could involve American forces in a matter of weeks.

The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan could essentially dissolve if the Pakistani government decides to enlist the help of American forces.

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was careful to refer to the Taliban in Pakistan as an “existential threat,” as to avoid any talk of civil war in Pakistan.

In reality the situation is much more complex. The border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is taken somewhat lightly by long time natives to the region. Both sides of the border is dominated demographically by the Pashtun people. The border which was instated by the British Empire split this population in half between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and today the Pashtun people have no homeland.