(APP): As Pakistan stepped up its military offensive to flush out Taliban militants from its northwestern Swat valley, Richard Holbrooke, US presidential envoy for the region, and influential Senator John Kerry vowed sustained U.S. support to help the country achieve economic development and stability and eliminate the terrorist threat along its Afghan border once and for all.

 “A stable, secure, democratic Pakistan is vital to U.S. national security interests.  We  must support and strengthen the democratic government of Pakistan in order to eliminate once and for all the extremist threat from al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist groups,”  Holbrooke said testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Senator John Kerry, chairing the hearing, welcomed Pakistani forces’ recent anti-Taliban actions as “encouraging signs” and reiterated his commitment to a legislative measures – Keery Lugar Bill -  on long-term economic and security assistance for the country.

The two leaders also said the US should help Islamabad deal with humanitarian situation arising out of the fight against militants in the Swat valley which has seen an exodus of more than one million people from the scenic region, once a popular tourist destination.

Washington, they argued, should not back out of its commitment to have a consistent  relationship with Pakistan with Holbrooke making a strong case for providing wide-ranging assistance of Pakistan on urgent basis.

“We cannot walk away from Pakistan without now damaging our own most vital national security interests,” Holbrooke told the committee when senator Reobert Menendez called for having benchmarks to determine outcome of efforts by both allies. He was critical of ways the past US assistance for Pakistan was dedicated and used.

The members of the committee were broadly in agreement on the urgency to aid the key South Asian coountry in its fight against militancy along Afghan border areas. 

Holbrooke emphasized to them that the United States and Pakistan face a common threat in the form of violent extremism.

Senator Kerry urged transforming the US Pakistan relationship by making it broad-based with the Pakistani people.

“Even as we help Pakistan’s government to respond to an acute crisis,we also need to mend a broken relationship with the Pakistani people. For decades, America sought Pakistani cooperation through military aid, while paying scant attention to the wishes of the population itself,”

He said the Kerry Lugar bill  named as “The Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act” is an important first step toward that end.

On the economic side, it triples non-military aid to $1.5 billion annually, for five years, and urges an additional five years of funding.  These funds will build schools, roads, and clinics-in other words, they aim to do on a regular basis what we briefly achieved with our earthquake relief. 

“Of course our aid to Pakistan aims to achieve more than just good deeds:  It will empower the civilian government to show that it can deliver its citizens a better life,” Kerry said. 

To do this right, he advocated, the US must make a long-term commitment and added most Pakistanis feel that America has used and abandoned their country in the past- most notably after the jihad against the Soviets in Afghanistan. “It is this history, and this fear, that causes Pakistan to hedge its bets,” he noted, undescoring the need to provide firm assurance that the US is not merely foul-weather friend.

Kerry remarked “Pakistan today has the potential either to be crippled by the Taliban, or to serve as a bulwark against everything the Taliban represents.”

At the same time, he reminded that ultimately, it will be Pakistani people, not Americans, who must determine their nation’s future.

“The good news is that for all its current troubles, Pakistan remains a nation whose 170 million citizens are overwhelmingly moderate, whose own soldiers and police have died fighting terrorism and insurgency- a country that has committed itself to a difficult democratic transition even at a moment of enormous strain.”

On the security side, the lawmaker said, the bill he has introduced asks the administration to certify that Pakistan security forces partner in the struggle against Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and their affiliates.

In his statement, the presidential envoy Holbrooke recognized the importance of fostering long-term relationship with Pakistan and said the U.S.  will support Pakistan.

The administration’s top official for South Asia said “relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been inconsistent over the years.  In Pakistan, many believe that we are not a reliable long-term partner and that we will abandon them after achieving our counterterrorism objectives.”

“ Our engagement has to be aimed at putting our relationship on a better long-term footing. To assure a strong partnership in the fight against extremists, constancy and consistency must be the hallmarks of our engagement with Pakistan. This engagement must be conducted in a way that respects and enhances democratic civilian authority while also engaging the Pakistani people in our commitment to help them pursue a prosperous economy, a stronger democracy, and a vibrant civil society.”

On the administration’s policy, Holbrooke said, Washington hosted a trilateral US.-Afghanistan-Pakistan engagement at the summit level last week.

“Through this trilateral mechanism, we have advanced unprecedented cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan.  All parties involved reaffirmed their shared commitment to combat the spread of terrorism and extremism and underscored the priority placed on this.”

The Obama administration, he said, believes that the United States should “also do our part to enhance bilateral and regional trade possibilities by implementing Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) and encouraging foreign investment in vital sectors, such as energy” in Pakistan.

“The Administration supports Congressional passage of ROZ legislation as a key way to boost private investment and sustainable economic development in targeted areas of Afghanistan and border areas of Pakistan. I ask for your support in expediting this crucial legislation.”

On efforts towards cancelling out the propaganda campaign by insurgents in the restive border areas, Holbrooke said: “We are developing a strategic communications plan to counter the terror information campaign, based in part on a strategy that proved successful in Iraq.

“This is an area that has been woefully under-resourced.  The strategic communications plan – including electronic media, telecom, and radio – will include options on how best to counter the propaganda that is key to the insurgency’s terror campaign.”