Experts commonly list Pakistan among the most strategically important countries for U.S. policy makers. The 113 th Congress is grappling with troubled and even deteriorated U.S.-Pakistani relations, as well as the need to balance Pakistan's importance to U.S. national security interests with U.S. domestic budgetary pressures. In the post-9/11 period, assisting in the creation of a more stable, democratic, and prosperous Pakistan actively combating religious militancy has been a central U.S. foreign policy effort. Global and South Asian regional terrorism, and a nearly 12-year-long effort to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan, are viewed as top-tier concerns. Pakistan's apparently accelerated nuclear weapons program and the long-standing dispute with India over Kashmir continue to threaten regional stability. Pakistan is identified as a base for numerous U.S.-designated terrorist groups and, by some accounts, most of the world's jihadist terrorist plots have some connection to Pakistan-based elements. With anti-American sentiments and xenophobic conspiracy theories remaining rife among ordinary Pakistanis, persistent economic travails and a precarious political setting combine to present serious challenges to U.S. decision makers. Opinion surveys show a large and consistent majority of Pakistanis holding strongly unfavorable views toward the United States. Meanwhile, Americans tend to have poor views of Pakistan; one survey—taken soon after the May 2011 bin Laden raid—found only 2% identifying Pakistan as a U.S. "ally." Aware of these and other concerns, the U.S. government has provided large-scale foreign assistance to Pakistan with an eye toward short-term U.S. security interests and longer-term interests in realizing a more stable, democratic, and prosperous Pakistani state. The United States has provided significant aid to Pakistan over the nearly 66 years since that country's independence, but at levels that fluctuated widely. Major aid flows during some periods and drastic cuts in others contributed to creating a perception among many in Pakistan that the United States is not a fully reliable ally. At the same time, some U.S. lawmakers continue to question providing large amounts of aid to a Pakistani government that is seen as an unreliable partner in U.S. counterterrorism efforts—as evidenced in 2011 by revelations that Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden found refuge in a Pakistani city for several years and that the Haqqani Network of Afghan insurgents may continue to receive support for Pakistan's main intelligence service. To many, Pakistan also appears incapable of providing sustainable economic development and security for its own people, and often is unaccountable to the United States for aid results. Beyond these issues, some question whether the aid results in public diplomacy benefits for the United States. Meanwhile, only a small percentage of Pakistanis appear to view U.S. assistance to their country as having a positive impact. Pakistan is a poor, fragile, and insecure state, representing a daunting challenge to U.S. and other foreign donors. Pakistan's estimated per capita GDP of $2,881 (at purchasing power parity) in 2012 ranks it 141 st of 187 world countries (by comparison, the U.S. figure is $51,248 and India's, with seven times as many citizens as Pakistan, is $4,063). From 2008 to 2010 the country experienced aggregate inflation of nearly 50% against GDP growth of less than 13%. Pakistan's education sector is among the world's least effective: the government devotes less than 3% of GDP to education and nearly one-quarter of primary school age children have no formal education of any kind. Less than half of Pakistanis have access to modern energy services, and the energy infrastructure is so overburdened that chronic electricity shortages result in rolling blackouts lasting 16 or more hours per day, even in vital business centers such as Karachi. Potable water shortages are widespread, and a dilapidated health sector provides insufficient access to basic health services, meaning that many citizens—women and children, especially—die each year from preventable diseases. Meanwhile, security threats remain rife: Pakistan is home to multiple Islamist, separatist, sectarian, and other politically motivated militants and terrorist groups. Reports indicate that as many as 49,000 Pakistanis have died in terrorism- and/or insurgency-related violence since September 2001; more than 5,100 civilians are said to have been killed in bomb blasts or suicide attacks since 2008. The post-2001 U.S. assistance program for Pakistan has seen notable accomplishments, not least in the area of humanitarian relief related to that country's devastating 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods. U.S. aid has measurably improved Pakistan's energy, health, and education sectors, bolstered its infrastructure, and facilitated better governance and gender equity. In the security realm, U.S. assistance has provided Pakistan's military and law enforcement agencies with equipment and training that has improved their capacity to combat the country's indigenous terrorism threat. It has also contributed to successes realized by the Pakistani military in offensive military operations undertaken in tribal areas, and enabled Pakistan to better support U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan. Pakistani law enforcement agencies have received equipment and training. However, by most objective measures, U.S. assistance to Pakistan since 2001 has not achieved its central goals, especially as Islamist extremism and militancy there have increased, the civilian government remains unstable, and the national economy continues to suffer. Many independent assessments of the U.S. aid program are critical of the way Washington has delivered and overseen aid. In the representative words found in a June 2012 study, International, particularly U.S., military and civilian aid has failed to improve Pakistan's performance against jihadi groups operating on its soil or to help stabilize its nascent democracy. Lopsided focus on security aid after the 11 September 2001 attacks has not delivered counterterrorism dividends, but entrenched the military's control over state institutions and policy, delaying reforms and aggravating Pakistani public perceptions that the U.S. is only interested in investing in a security client. This critique, like many others, urges the United States to apply conditions on military, but not civilian, assistance, and to give both the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its implementing partners more freedom to devise and prioritize their efforts. Some observers fault the U.S. government for failing to put security aid and development aid on distinct tracks. These analysts further contend that the Obama Administration and Congress may both have overestimated the pace at which the United States could enlarge the assistance program, and been too optimistic about the ability of U.S. agencies to quickly and extensively implement KLB effectively. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2013 became P.L. 112-239 just days before the 112 th Congress adjourned. The act contains limitations, conditions, and waiver authorities for Coalition Support Fund (CSF) reimbursements and Pakistan Counterinsurgency Fund (PCF) disbursements. In addition, the certification requirements for most forms of U.S. assistance found in Section 7046 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 ( P.L. 112-74 ) continue to obtain in FY2013, as do certification requirements for the release of most security aid found in Section 203 of the Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act of 2009 ( P.L. 111-73 ). Section 1227 of the FY2013 NDAA limits CSF reimbursements to Pakistan to $1.2 billion in the current fiscal year, and it prohibits any such reimbursements for the roughly seven-month period (November 2011-July 2012) that Pakistan had barred NATO from transiting along its Ground Lines of Communication (GLOCs) linking Afghanistan with the Arabian Sea. Payment of FY2013 CSF to Pakistan cannot be made unless the Secretary of Defense certifies that security is being maintained along the GLOCs, that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps on counterterrorism efforts against al Qaeda, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, and other militant extremist groups, and that it is countering the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The Secretary may waive this certification requirement in the interest of U.S. national security. Section 1228 of the act extends PCF through the current fiscal year. Disbursement of such funds requires the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to certify that Pakistan is demonstrating efforts to counter IEDs, cooperating on counterterrorism efforts, and not detaining Pakistani citizens, including Dr. Shakil Afridi, as a result of their cooperation with the U.S. government on counterterrorism efforts. The Secretary may also waive this certification requirement in the interest of U.S. national security. Section 1211 of the pending NDAA for FY2014 ( H.R. 1960 ), passed by the full House on June 14, 2013, would limit FY2014 CSF reimbursements to Pakistan to $1.5 billion. Furthermore, disbursement of such funds would require the Secretary of Defense to certify that Pakistan is maintaining the security of and not interfering with the movement of U.S. shipments along its GLOCs; that it is taking demonstrable steps to support counterterrorism operations, to disrupt the conduct of cross-border attacks on NATO and allied troops in Afghanistan, to counter the threat of IEDs, and to conduct cross-border coordination with Afghan and U.S. troops; and that it is not using its military or any security assistance provided by the United States to persecute nonviolent minority groups for their political or religious beliefs. The bill would allow the Secretary to waive this certification requirement in the interest of U.S. national security. Section 9014 of the pending Department of Defense Appropriations Act for FY2014 ( H.R.