WASHINGTON, April 9: The United States on Wednesday removed military coup-related restrictions from Pakistan, enabling it to continue to receive the US assistance in the future.

A notification published in the US Federal Register noted that since an elected government had taken office in Pakistan from March 25, there was no justification for continuing coup-related restrictions on the country.

A US law limits funding to countries where the head of state or government is deposed by a military coup, as President Pervez Musharraf had done in Pakistan.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed the notification on March 28 but it was sent to the Federal Registrar’s office on April 1, the day the new cabinet was sworn in Islamabad.

“Pursuant to the authority vested in me as Secretary of State … I hereby determine and certify that subsequent to the termination of assistance to the government of Pakistan after a military coup on October 12, 1999, a democratically elected government has taken office in Pakistan as of March 25, 2008, permitting immediate resumption of assistance.

“I direct that this determination be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress,” she wrote.

The removal of restrictions becomes official on the day the notification is published in the Federal Register.

Before the notification, Pakistan needed an annual waiver from the White House to continue to receive US assistance.

On March 24, President George Bush issued the last coup-related waiver for Pakistan, certifying that “a waiver … would facilitate the transition to democratic rule in Pakistan and it is important to US efforts to respond to deter, or prevent acts of international terrorism.”

The waiver asked the US Congress to approve $300 million in security assistance for Pakistan, ignoring the restrictions that prohibit such aid to a country ruled by the military.

Later, Gordon Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said the Bush administration wanted to support Pakistan’s fight against terrorist groups and to bring terrorists to justice and that’s why it had issued the waiver.

Mr Johndroe, however, said that the US still had concerns about “fundamental civil and political rights” in Pakistan, referring to the state of emergency imposed there in November.

The concerns he expressed led to speculations in the US and Indian media that Pakistan may have problem getting a similar waiver from the next administration if a Democrat wins the 2008 president election.

The official notification, however, puts an end to all such speculations as Pakistan will no longer need a waiver.