Last year, after the United States Congress passed the Kerry-Lugar Bill, and after a series of visits to the region, special envoy Richard Holbrooke, who personally signs every contract concerning projects in Pakistan, began doing something markedly different.
In a massive overhaul of the aid regime that grants money to development projects, Holbrooke began rejecting all projects that used American contractors with the directive that aid projects in Pakistan should use Pakistani contractors and organisations.
This move is likely to have a significant effect on the nature and leadership of development projects slated to be initiated in Pakistan in the upcoming months as money from the Kerry-Lugar law begins to be disbursed.
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