Senator John Kerry voiced hope Thursday that a giant US aid package would ease widespread anti-Americanism in Pakistan but admitted a long road lay ahead. Congress on Wednesday gave the final go-ahead to a five-year, 7.5 billion dollar package to build schools, roads and democratic institutions in the frontline nation in the US-led campaign against Islamic extremism. Kerry, the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and co-author of the act, said the aid plan marked a turning point by responding to the needs of Pakistan's people rather than just the government. 'It's no secret that the relationship between our countries has suffered its share of strains. Many Pakistanis believe that the United States has exploited them for strategic goals,' Kerry said at a congressional hearing. 'The reason we did this is specifically to try to build a relationship with the people to show that what we want is a relationship that meets their interests and needs,' Kerry said. 'This is a landmark change in the relationship,' he said. But he conceded that the package was 'not a panacea' and said that more investment and policy changes were needed to put US-Pakistani relations on track. 'In the end, only Pakistanis will define the future of that relationship,' Kerry said. Kerry unsuccessfully ran in 2004 against President George W. Bush, who developed a close alliance with Pakistan's military ruler Pervez Musharraf to fight Afghanistan's Taliban, an extremist force once backed by Islamabad. Kerry, a close ally of President Barack Obama, said he was hopeful of a better relationship with Pakistan since President Asif Ali Zardari took over last year, restoring civilian rule. Obama has also changed strategy by considering Afghanistan and Pakistan part of the same campaign as concerns grow about the presence of extremists in Pakistan's lawless border regions. 