Peanuts for Pakistan? By Mumtaz Hamid Rao

Peanuts for Pakistan?

By Mumtaz Hamid Rao

Al-Jazeerah, November 27, 2004

Taking into account—the pledge made by President Bush with President Musharraf, at Camp David—the US Congress has, eventually approved a part of the overall fiscal package for Pakistan.

The Congress has Okayed a US $ 388 billion dollar national defense budget, of which Pakistan shall get an elfin amount of 300 million dollars for military assistance.

As the budgetary provisions reveal, Israel will get a total of 2.2 billion dollars, while Egypt is being offered 1.3 billion dollars for its military and 535 million dollars for its economic needs.

Obviously every country has a right to pursue its policies in keeping with its own national imperatives.

But US policy about Pakistan vis-à-vis monetary assist—prima facie—is heavily tilted to its detriment despite its tangible role in the American success in its war against terror, which President Bush and other key officials of his administration zestfully acknowledge day-in, day-out.

The incentive is, however, not commensurate with the role. Compared with the allocation of 1.835 billion dollars for Egypt—Pakistan’s 300 million dollars—is not only insignificant, but contemptuous.

The puffy magnitude of aid by Washington to its’ cute and cunning aficionado—Israel—is to an extent ‘understandable’—for raison d'être, best known all-around the orb, yet we do not grudge the fiscal help being offered to Egypt, but do feel discomfited—with the provision for Pakistan—explicitly in the face of its contribution in the anti-terror war in Afghanistan.

Pakistan has not only afforded facilities to the US armed forces to launch—all-out and bellicose operations against terrorists in Afghanistan—but has also arrested and handed-over almost 600 foreign militants and terrorists to the US including some high profile targets with millions of dollars of head money.

What Pakistan has to spend to obviate and make evaporate the security perils—emanating from militants’ presence on the soils of its Tribal belt, subsequent to their migration in the wake of US military operations in Afghanistan—is far more than this paltry allocation in the US defense budget.

Analyzing in a pragmatic style, the ongoing anti-terror war is generating insecurity and is—virtually—a source of instability with serious negative impact on foreign and domestic investment in the country.

As a matter of fact, Pakistan is in perpetual danger as a result of US military operations in Afghanistan. It has been—and still—is target of terrorism, which is amply obvious and evident from the attempts on the much-loved lives of President Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Apart from such a perilous scenario—the vile and iniquitous killings in the Mosques and other places of worship—in diverse vicinities of Pakistan are also a manifestation of the terrorism to which Pakistan stands overt and exposed as a result of its support to the US armed and fortified operations in Afghanistan.

We are, thus, constrained to say that the 300 million dollar provision for assistance to Pakistan is just peanuts as compared to its role and that too—as a frontline State.

Hence it [Pakistan] deserves—a hefty back-up—much-more than what was avowed by the United States at the stage of the communiqué, which was aired to the world as an upshot of the one-on-one dialogue between the Presidents of USA and Pakistan at the historic Camp David resort—a podium that has at all times set a new-fangled history—in motion.

A lot of fresh transformations have surfaced—since then. Wherein, despite heavy odds—Pakistan has supported the US perceptions on manifold topics of great significance. And as a fine friend—has always taken the side of President Bush on every valid and logical issue of global value—as a result of which he [Bush] is back to the Oval Office as a victor in the November-2 Presidential polls.

Pakistan has no love or leaning for a ‘reward’—as it is a sovereign and self-reliant country—yet, by all parameters of justice, it [Pakistan] is ought to seek for its legitimate, valid and bona fide right (s) for the protection of its financial system—which has faced enormous fiscal and celebrity risks—for going along the Bush administration, ever since the Nine/Eleven tragic episode.

Should we ray with a realistic optimism that the Bush administration in broad-spectrum and the US Congress in meticulous shall review the pecuniary allocation for Pakistan—a nation which has proved itself a trustworthy ally—of a stature, par excellence?

[The writer is an analyst of global repute, ex-Head (Director) of News & Current Affairs, Pakistan TV and Editor-in-Chief of Pakistan's first independent daily newspaper on the Web: www.PakistanTimes.net]

Earth, a planet hungry for peace

Apartheid Wall


The Israeli Land-Grab Apartheid Wall built inside the Palestinian territories, here separating Abu Dis from occupied East Jerusalem. (IPC, 7/4/04).

The Israeli apartheid (security) wall around Palestinian population centers in the West Bank, like a Python. (Alquds,10/25/03).

Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent Al-Jazeerah's.

editor@aljazeerah.info