Broad considerations of an extensive US programme to increase assistance disbursal, military support and trade concessions to Pakistan started to come out this week in the midst of uncertainties regarding Islamabad’s bonafides, which includes its hesitation to aim its guns away from the direction of India.

The extensive American assistance is set to incorporate major aid to assist Pakistan in addressing its water and energy crisis; however, no absolute commitment to end a civilian nuclear arrangement on the considerations of the United States-India concord has been reached. Still, the US government has agreed to tackle the request of Pakistan.

Af-Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke said on Monday, “We are going to be announcing a range of actions, some big some small, that move the process forward on issues from energy to water to education, to security issues. The Congress will be involved”.

The comments of the envoy have evolved after his dialogue with Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the foreign minister of Pakistan. The latter urged that the US “walk the talk” and adequately reward Pakistan for its loyalty in the fight against terrorism.

The first hint of a potential policy change by the US government was implied during US envoy to Islamabad Anne Patterson’s interview with a Pakistani-American periodical, in which she stated that the two countries would be having ’working level talks’ on the issue in a dialogue on 24 March.

The US envoy has affirmed her Pakistani counterpart’s claim that both sides had some negotiations regarding the issue.

Af-Pak envoy Richard Holbrooke said that the US needs to listen attentively to anything that the Pakistanis would say. He said this when he was asked regarding the demand of Islamabad for a civilian nuclear agreement.

Meanwhile, some experts have questioned whether Pakistan is capable of absorbing or purchasing any nuclear power reactor given its current economic standing.

The idea that the Islamic country is worthy of a nuclear deal was initially proposed by Christine Fair of Georgetown University.

“More so than conventional weapons or large sums of cash, a conditions-based civilian nuclear deal may be able to diminish Pakistani fears of US intentions while allowing Washington to leverage these gains for greater Pakistani cooperation on nuclear proliferation and terrorism”, said Fair in a recently published article.

Clinton spoke of her condemnation of the terrorist attack to reporters, “They are not courageous, they are cowardly. If the people behind these attacks were so sure of their beliefs, let them join the political process. Let them come forth to the people of Pakistan in this democracy and make their case that they don’t want girls to go to school. That they want women to be kept back.”

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also expressed his anger and gave a direct message to the extremists saying, “We will not buckle. We will fight you. We will fight you because we want stability and peace in Pakistan. You are on the run, and we know that.”

Clinton has committed to provide $125 million to uphold the Signature Energy Program in Pakistan, but it may not be enough to pacify negative impressions on U.S. motives especially with the bombing’s aftermath.

“I want to make clear that the United States and Pakistan have a long history of cooperation and partnership. We have a relationship that we want to strengthen, but we don’t want it to be lopsided,” Clinton emphasised. “We don’t want it to be just about security and just about our anti-terrorist agenda, although, as I said, that’s our highest priority. So we want to strengthen democracy, we want to strengthen civilian institutions, which we think are in the best interest of the people of Pakistan.”

Fourteen American soldiers died in Afghanistan, on Monday, after two helicopters crashed. CNN reported that it is the largest number of American casualties in one day during the last three years. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force; however, rejected the possibility of enemy fire.

U.S. military forces are also set to conduct appropriate security measures for the upcoming runoff between Afghan President Hamid Karzai and challenger Abdullah Abdullah. The runoff, being a result of a massive fraud that occurred in August, will be held on November 7. In fear of another fraudulent election, Abdullah said on Monday that he wants the election chief, Azizullah Lodin, and other election commission staff members to be removed from the panel. The challenger believes that Lodin is an ally of Karzai and has demanded for his removal for a fair runoff.

The White House meeting is the sixth in a series of high-level discussions. The meeting will also be a venue for U.S. officials to decide whether to send more troops in Afghanistan to aid the request of Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

Vice President Joe Biden via videoconference, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are expected to be part of the meeting.

Other attendees expected include White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, National Security Adviser Gen. James Jones, and John Brennan, Assistant to the President for counterterrorism and Homeland Security.

Qureshi’s return to the US and his meeting with the chairmen of the Senate and House Foreign Relations Committees were followed by an outburst of opposition from the Pakistani military and politicians.

Though the Pakistani Army expressed concerns about the package and how it will affect national security, Pakistan’s sovereignty will not be impinged upon under the bill, according to Kerry and Berman.

A “joint explanatory statement” was released and according to Kerry, it “honours the great sacrifices made by Pakistani security forces in the fight against extremism.”

“And it also makes absolutely clear – and I want to emphasise this point – that the legislation does not seek in any way to compromise Pakistan’s sovereignty, impinge on Pakistan’s national security interests or micromanage any aspect of Pakistani military or civilian operations,” he added.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs also said that the bill is in support of the people of Pakistan and the country’s democracy.

The aid to Pakistan will be sent on several conditions, which entail Pakistan’s commitment to end illegal nuclear production and to end support for militant groups. The legislation, which will triple non-military US aid, will be spent on projects through the US embassy in the capital of Islamabad. A special unit in the embassy will manage the accounts involving cost and spending.

The US recently provided $3 billion more in aid since President Asif Zardari rose to power. US officials said that the aid was given for “security, economic and development assistance”.

As stated on the constitution of Pakistan, an elected president is barred to participate in politics or hold any public office for two years after the end of his/her term.

Musharraf’s termination of political ban period is fast-approaching.

Shahbaz said during his interview on Sunday that he had several conferences with the ex-president. He had learned that Musharraf received official protocol from the King of Saudi Arabia regarding his political career after the king invited him in a meeting.

When questioned about the specific plans of the former president, Shahbaz, who acted as population welfare minister during the Musharraf administration, said, “Musharraf would unite various factions of the PML-Q and participate in politics from that platform”.

He added that “he (Musharraf) would announce his future strategy” after 30 November.

Describing the former president, Shahbaz stated that he is a “visionary leader whose services are required by the nation…After Benazir Bhutto, we have no leader … who can deliver lectures in 17 countries. Musharraf is recognised all over the world”.

Furthermore, Shahbaz announced that he was an active member of the PML-Q Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain-led party, which supports the former president.

When asked about the conflict between the Chaudhry brothers and Musharraf, he stated, “Sometimes, even brothers can develop differences. But these differences can be settled”.

Regarding the conciliation effort for the two sides, he simply said, “It would not be an uphill task”.

In a statement, Malik encouraged Mehsud’s associates to leave their leader and to “serve Islam in true meaning and serve Pakistan, as this country has given them refuge.” ”I have already said that it is a targeted operation, it is a targeted law enforcement action against Baitullah Mehsud’s group and it will continue till Baitullah Mehsud’s group is eliminated forever,” Malik added. If confirmed, the death of the major Taliban leader would be an important step in U.S. and Pakistani government efforts to eradicate al-Qaida and the Taliban. Mehsud was accused of having connections with al-Qaida, which was accused of killing the former Pakistani prime minister, Benazir Bhutto. A U.S. counterterrorism official said the U.S. government is still looking for evidence of Mehsud’s death. He added that there are ways of finding who was killed in the missile attack.