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In a sudden move late on Saturday, President George W Bush of the United States exercised his executive discretion and lifted most of the sanctions imposed by Congress on India and Pakistan in the wake of their tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May 1998.
The move is seen as a reward for the two South Asian countries' willingness to help the US in its current 'war on terrorism', whose focus is neighbouring Afghanistan.
In a memorandum to Secretary of State Colin Powell to lift the sanctions, the president said the sanctions no longer serve the "national security interests" of the US.
"You are authorised and directed to transmit this determination and certification to the appropriate committees of Congress and to arrange for its publication in the Federal Register," Bush wrote.
The decision came less than a fortnight after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon on September 11.
Certain sanctions relating to the export of dual-use and missile technologies, however, remain in place, as do the sanctions imposed on Pakistan after the military coup that brought General Pervez Musharraf to power in October 1999, CNN said.
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