TIMES OF INDIA– The United States
is lining up billions of dollars in new economic and military aid to Pakistan
despite reports that Islamabad is
using American tax-payer money for deals with the Taliban and accounts
of US arms
ending up in the hands of the extremists.
Amid an ongoing review of the so-called Af-Pak policy initiated by the Obama
administration, Washington, under
pressure from influential Senator John Kerry among other lawmakers and
lobbyists, is said to be considering a one-time $ 5 billion aid to Pakistan
over and above the $ 1.5 billion annual package for ten years currently under
review for passage through Congress.
Releasing a report by the think-tank Atlantic Council on Wednesday, Kerry, who
is also the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and is in a
position to pilot the aid package, raised the prospect of a total collapse in Pakistan
if it was not helped urgently.
“If we fail, we face a truly frightening prospect: terrorist sanctuary,
economic meltdown, and spiraling radicalism, all in a nation with 170 million
inhabitants and a full arsenal of nuclear weapons,” he said. “The
stakes could not be higher, and [this] report could not be more timely.”
The 27-page report calls for “a total of $4-5 billion above the
(Biden)-Kerry-Lugar proposals and beyond the IMF and other loans
from the US.
and other sources,” for Pakistan.
Of this, it recommends, about $3 billion should go to the economic and social
sectors directly. About $1 billion of fresh or redirected funds would go to
security forces — both military and law enforcement.
US government reports in recent times have detailed how Pakistan
has misused billions in aid for a military build-up against India
instead of using it for the intended war on terror. Audits have also detailed
million of dollars in fraudulent claims by the Pakistani military.
Reimbursement to Pakistan have been halted for several minths because of this
but are set to resume soon after the Obama administration has given a green
signal pending further audits.
Continue reading about the US Pledging Billions to Pakistan.
Photo by Flickr user Vibracobra23
© TIMES OF INDIA, 2009
