The Obama administration finally secured on Thursday passage of a $1.5bn a year civilian aid programme for Pakistan that Washington hopes will transform its relationship with Islamabad and help the fight against the Taliban.

The five year plan – which Barack Obama, US president, and Joseph Biden, his vice-president, championed even before last year’s election – is intended to supplant a previous policy that officials on both sides say was skewed towards military aid.

“It’s a big step forward,” said Richard Holbrooke, Mr Obama’s special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Washington is particularly keen to demonstrate a long-term commitment to Islamabad in response to complaints from Pakistan that the US pulled away in the past once the country had served its purpose. Islamabad felt abandoned by the west after the Soviet pull-out from Afghanistan in 1989.

“We recognise that Pakistani public opinion on the US is still surprisingly low, given the tremendous effort the US is making,” Mr Holbrooke said, adding that the US would now focus on helping Pakistan deal with an energy crisis that has led to riots across the country.

But the conditions included in the aid package have proved contentious both on Capitol Hill and in Islamabad. Some Pakistani officials argue that the US should not tie aid to its demands, and there have been differences among US legislators about how extensive the conditions should be.

Differences between bills approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate held up the legislation until Thursday, when the Senate unanimously backed a compromise text agreed by the two chambers.

The deal is expected to be approved by the House in coming days.

The conditions do not affect civilian assistance but would apply to military aid granted to Pakistan. They oblige the US administration to certify whether Pakistani security forces are subverting the country’s civilian order and whether it is co-operating with efforts to combat extremist groups and dismantle nuclear weapon proliferation networks. The US president would be able to waive such conditions on grounds of national security.

Fawzia Wahab, spokeswoman for the ruling Pakistan People’s party, said the legislation’s success was “very welcome news that will help Pakistan overcome some of its key problems and work towards defeating the militants who threaten our country”.