ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari Tuesday called upon the United States to expedite reimbursement of the 1.6 billion dollars of the outstanding payments in Coalition Support Fund (CSF), early passage of the Kerry-Lugar Bill and the legislation to set up Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (RoZs) in the war affected areas of Pakistan. Inordinate delays in the reimbursement of CSF claims were not conducive for the continued fight against militancy, the President told a 3-member US delegation of Senate at the Presidency. He insisted, The US lawmakers should help speeding up the process of providing assistance in energy sector and also the proposed package of 2.5 billion dollars undertaken for the rehabilitation of reconstruction of the internally displaced persons. Briefing the media about the meeting, Spokesman to the President Farhatullah Babar said that President Zardari sought personal intervention of the visiting senators in expediting the reimbursement process and also in the supply of critically needed equipment including the gunship helicopters. The Senators who called on the President included Carl Levin and Jack Reed both of the Senates Armed Services Committee and Senator Edward Kaufman, Senates Foreign Relations Committee, US Ambassador in Islamabad Anne W Patterson and senior officials accompanying the US senators were also present at the meeting. The meeting was also attended by Interior Minister Rehman Malik, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Nawabzada Malik Ahmad Khan, Secretary General Salman Faruqui, Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir, Senator Syeda Sughra Imam and Secretary Defence besides senior officials of the Foreign Office. Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as the saying, The payment of outstanding amount in the support funds is important for the security forces to continue the ongoing military operation against the militants. President Zardari also impressed upon the visiting Senators the need for early approval of the Kerry-Lugar Bill as well as the RoZs legislation. The key Kerry-Lugar legislation has been approved by both the Houses and also reconciled by the conference committee and it could be adopted anytime. President Zardari said that the security forces had cleared 94 per cent of the area in Swat of the militants and a large number of the displaced persons have already returned to their homes. National consensus and the support of cross section of the people had made the success possible, he said. The President said that after driving the militants out, the government had undertaken a massive reconstruction and rehabilitation programme of the internally displaced persons at a cost of over 2.5 billion dollars and called upon the international community to assist Pakistan in this task. Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as impressing upon the senators the need for ISAF and NATO forces in Afghanistan to ensure that there was no direct or indirect support to the militant factions from Afghanistan. The President also touched upon the trade and economic issues between the two countries and asked for enhanced market access to the US and EU markets. The President said that attaching conditions would be counter-productive and impart a transactional nature to the relationship, which must be avoided. The President said that the RoZs legislation was a critically important national security initiative and called for enhancement of the area as well as product coverage of the reconstruction opportunity zones. He said that any deadlock over the legislation would send wrong signals to the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan, who badly need a peace dividend. The President also welcomed President Obamas commitment to help Pakistan address its energy needs and said that the US government and private sector could help by supporting specific projects as well as mobilising investment for the energy sector. He said that there was a huge opportunity for American companies to profitably invest in the energy sector in Pakistan and called upon the US to encourage investment by providing safeguards to the investors. The President said that Pakistan deeply appreciates President Obamas commitment to co-chair the Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) Summit in New York later this month and said that this would have great impact and galvanise support for Pakistan. Regional situation also came under discussion in the meeting. The President said that Pakistan is committed to establishing good relations with India and was determined to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack to justice. The President also called for the revival of the composite dialogue process. About Afghanistan, the President said that Pakistan looked forward to continued cooperation with the newly elected government for peace and security in the region. Farhatullah Babar quoted the President as saying that drones were helpful in taking out militants but Pakistan needed ownership of this technology as otherwise it created problems for a sovereign democratic government responsible to the people. Senator Carl Levin Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee praised the government of Pakistan for developing national consensus in the fight against militancy and a long term US-Pakistan partnership would be most helpful in combating the menace.