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Pakistan 'insulted' by US aid bill
The Pakistani President, Asif Ali Zardari, is desperately trying to fight off critics–many of them inside the country's armed forces–who claim that conditions attached to a multi-billion dollar aid package from the US undermines the country's sovereignty.
Amid a row that has pitched the civilian government against top military commanders, Mr Zardari has insisted that provisions contained within the $7.5bn (£4.7bn) aid package would be welcomed by anyone who supported democracy in Pakistan. He has ordered his ministers to defend the package against hostile criticism.