ABSTRACT
This is the first chapter under the section of civil-military relations. It demonstrates how the Kerry Lugar Berman Act (KLB) was deployed by the US to engineer a domestic power shift in favour of the civilian government in Pakistan, in a clear case of breaching Pakistan's sovereignty. This is demonstrated by examining three sets of evidence. First, by looking at the context of US difficulties with the Pakistan Army after the September 11 attacks as a precursor to KLB: in other words, demonstrating its need to influence civil-military relations in Pakistan. Second, the chapter looks at the terms and conditions of KLB as clear evidence of an overt attempt by the US to interfere in Pakistan's civil relations in its own favour. Lastly, the chapter delves deeply into demonstrating the US use of direct funding on the ground to INGOs and NGOs in Pakistan to engineer a domestic power shift in the country. Essentially, the chapter shows the way KLB challenged Pakistan's sovereignty through interference in the delicate civil-military relations, highlighting the politics of aid and the war of narratives. However, as in the previous section, Pakistan is not a passive bystander of American politics through KLB. Instead, it is and has been an active actor, as this book argues.
