WASHINGTON, June 25: US lawmakers are pushing for a new legislation that would triple non-security aid to Pakistan to $15 billion over a period of 10 years but will also condition security assistance to Islamabad’s performance in the war against terrorism.

“We can’t keep jumping from one crisis to the next, relying on exceptional diplomats and military officers to save us from disaster,” said Senator Joseph Biden while explaining his proposal to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday. “We need a new strategy, to set the relationship on a stable course.”

At this special hearing on new US strategy for Pakistan, US officials and lawmakers also welcomed Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s decision to give more power to the military to deal with militants in Fata.

Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher told the committee that this could be a prelude to a forthcoming anti-terrorism agreement among Pakistan’s political and military leaders.

He said the prime minister’s new policy should make clear that Islamabad planned only to negotiate with tribal leaders along the Afghan border and not with militants.

Assistant Secretary of Defence Mitchell Shivers welcomed this as an encouraging development, hoping that it could provide a basis for rooting out insurgency from the tribal areas.

Senator Joseph Biden, who chairs the committee, however focused on increasing US assistance to Pakistan, telling the panel that Islamabad should also get an additional billion dollars as “democracy dividend”.

He said a supplemental economic assistance of $150 million approved by a House committee on Tuesday was a “down-payment” on this democracy dividend.

“This money will help moderate, secular political leaders show the Pakistani people that they can deliver the goods,” he said.

Defending his proposal for a larger aid package to Pakistan, Senator Biden told the committee: “Triple non-security aid, to $1.5 billion annually. And make this a long-term commitment, over ten years.”

“This aid will be unconditional: it’s our pledge to the Pakistani people. Instead of funding military hardware, it would build schools, clinics, and roads and help develop the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, where extremism is taking deeper root.”

He said that a significant increase in non-security aid, guaranteed for a long period, would help persuade the Pakistani populace that America is not a fair-weather friend, but an all-weather friend; it would also help persuade Pakistan’s leaders that America is a reliable ally.

“I enthusiastically support this proposal,” said Gen Anthony Zinni, a former commander of the US Central Command. “It was long overdue … a breath of fresh air.”

“I would like to agree with every thing you said,” said Wendy Chamberlin, a former US ambassador to Pakistan. “I would like to endorse with enthusiasm this proposed legislation.”

They both appeared as key witnesses before the panel which also heard from Mr Boucher, Mr Shivers and Assistant Administrator USAID Mark Ward.

The three witnesses from the US administration welcomed the proposed aid package, but said they disagreed with the suggestion to tie security aid to Pakistan’s performance in the war against terror.

“We would like to see demonstrated performance by … a major non-Nato ally (Pakistan) but we prefer to discuss it in the privacy of bilateral diplomacy, than through legislation,” said Mr Shivers.

Explaining his proposal to tie security aid to performance, Mr Biden said: “We’re spending over $1 billion annually, and it’s not clear we’re getting our money’s worth. We should be willing to spend more if we get better returns -- and less if we don’t.”

Tying security aid to results, he said, would push the Pakistani military to finally crush Al Qaeda and the Taliban.

But he noted that Pakistani security services would be vital players for the foreseeable future. “We cannot simply insist that they combat the Taliban and Al Qaeda; we’ve got to help them develop the capability to do so,” he said.

“Our relationship with the army and intelligence agency, unlike our relationship with the nation as a whole, will always have a strong transactional element -- but we’ve got to make sure we’re striking a much better bargain.”

Mr Biden also defended his proposal to give “democracy dividend”, saying that it would empower Pakistan’s moderate mainstream.

“Ever since the start of the Bush Administration, we’ve had a Musharraf policy rather than a Pakistan policy. The democracy dividend will help the secular, democratic, civilian political leaders establish their credibility with the Pakistani public,” he said. “They must prove that they -- more so than the generals or the radical Islamists -- can bring real, measurable improvement to the lives of their constituents.”