US President George W. Bush on Wednesday named Pakistan a major non-NATO ally of the US, making it easier for the country to acquire US arms.
The announcement rewards Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf for supporting the US-led war on terrorism.
Secretary of State Colin Powell told Musharraf in March that his country would get the designation. A memo issued by Bush Wednesday made it official.
The status of major non-NATO ally is also enjoyed by Australia, Bahrain, Israel, South Korea and Morocco.
As a major non-NATO ally, Pakistan could use US funding to lease some defense items and would become eligible for loans of military supplies for research and development projects.
It would also become eligible to buy depleted uranium ammunition, to have US-owned military stockpiles on its territory outside US bases and to receive US military training on easier financial terms.
However, the designation does not confer the mutual defense and security guarantees enjoyed by NATO members.
The US imposed sanctions on Pakistan after it conducted nuclear tests in 1998 but most were lifted in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the US, when Pakistan became a key US ally in the war on terror.
Given Pakistan's porous border with Afghanistan, its help is seen as vital if the US is to catch Osama bin Laden and defeat his al-Qaeda network.
Many in Pakistan have not forgiven US for refusing to deliver 28 F-16 fighters in the 1990s because of worry over Pakistan's nuclear program. The planes were paid for, but it took eight years for the money to be refunded.
India, Pakistan's long-standing rival, opposes the sale of F-16s to Pakistan and the decision to grant Islamabad major non-NATO ally status could trouble New Delhi, which does not have that status, although it does have growing military contacts with Washington.
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