WASHINGTON, March 15: The US Congress has taken up a piece of legislation that will allow President Bush to designate reconstruction opportunity zones (ROZs) in the border regions and earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan and throughout Afghanistan.

A bipartisan panel of Senators Maria Cantwell, Orrin Hatch, Kit Bond, Joe Lieberman, and Chuck Hagel introduced the ROZ bill in the US Senate on Friday.

The support of both Republican and Democratic lawmakers would ensure a smooth passage of the bill which will allow duty-free entry into the United States of specified goods produced within the ROZs.

President Bush had announced his plan to establish ROZs in Afghanistan and certain areas of Pakistan during his March, 2006, visit to Islamabad and Kabul.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, while welcoming the move, said “the passage of this legislation as drafted would fulfil the goal” President Bush announced during his visit.

“It also would send a strong message of support to the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan, symbolising our long-term commitment to the security, peace, and prosperity of the region,” he added.

Mr McCormack noted that the bill constitutes a vital component of the Bush administration’s three-pronged military, political, and economic strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“By encouraging production in ROZs, this bill would fuel sustainable economic development and provide legitimate employment opportunities, particularly in the border area, as an alternative to violent extremism,” he said.

“ROZs are designed to leverage the power of the private sector to create jobs and fuel sustainable economic development in this critical region.”

Mr McCormack hoped that the ROZs would also provide a potent tool in the fight against extremism by giving Afghans and Pakistanis a critical chance to improve their lives.

“We look forward to working with the House and Senate in a bipartisan and constructive manner as the legislative process continues on this bill.”

The proposed reconstruction opportunity zones are similar to a programme which provides duty-free access to US markets for certain Egyptian and Jordanian goods made in designated “qualified industrial zones” with Israeli components.

Although proposed more than two years ago, the plan to establish ROZs was delayed because of stiff opposition from US textile groups, which fear the trade benefits would cost American jobs.

In August last year, a high-level Pakistani delegation visited Washington and urged the US administration to expedite the process.

Instead of specifying the tribal areas, the bill introduced in the US Senate uses the term “border regions” which would allow Pakistan to establish industrial zones in areas close to the tribal belt.

Both official and private delegations from Pakistan that visited Washington during the last two years for talks on the proposed ROZs argued that they be allowed to set up industrial units outside the tribal belt as well.

Confining ROZs to the tribal belt, they argued, will make it difficult to implement the plan as some tribal areas do not have the required infrastructure for setting up industrial units.

The negotiations led to an agreement to set up chain of industries in the entire NWFP, Fata and a 100 miles belt along Afghan border in Balochistan, which brings Quetta within the ROZ range.

Pakistan has proposed the establishment of ROZs in 20 districts, including the quake-hit areas of NWFP and Azad Kashmir.

The districts identified for the establishment of ROZs included: Bahawalpur, D.G. Khan, Jhang and Muzafargarh in Punjab; Badin, Jacobabad, Khairpur, Sanghar, Tharparkar and Thatta in Sindh; Bunir, D.I. Khan, Hangu, Lower Dir, Swat and Upper Dir in NWFP and Gwadar, Kalat, Kharan and Sibi in Balochistan.

Some units will also be set up in North and South Waziristan, which are seen in the US as the most troubled areas in Pakistan.

Despite a strong opposition from American textile producers, Washington agreed to include 77 categories of textile products in the proposed ROZs. The list, however, does not contain many hot items that Pakistani businessmen wanted to include, such as bed wear and a variety of apparels.