John Tierney: “Pakistan is scheduled to have crucial parliamentary elections in the fall of 2007 and the early winter of 2008. My…”

“Pakistan is scheduled to have crucial parliamentary elections in the fall of 2007 and the early winter of 2008. My amendment would withhold a portion of military aid to Pakistan unless those elections occurred and were free, fair and democratic. Specifically, the amendment would have withheld $175 million out of a total of $250 million that's allocated under this bill for foreign military financing in Pakistan. These funds would be released when the Secretary of State determined, giving due consideration to the credible, independent judgment of reliable agencies that elections in Pakistan were free, fair and democratic. The amendment also asks that all steps of the election process, from voter registration on through vote tabulation, be reviewed in reaching any such judgment. This amendment would send a powerful message to the people of Pakistan about the importance the United States places on the democratic process.”