All posts tagged: US aid

In defense of Kerry-Lugar Bill

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PointWise By Dr. Khalil Ahmad 1. The furore against the Kerry-Lugar Bill in Pakistan is politically-motivated. Among other things which include opposition to the US government and to the Pakistan Peoples Party especially its present leadership, it has its roots in the mindset that has been nurtured through the last six decades by the Pakistani establishment. One of the most important characteristics of this mindset is its concept of charismatic sovereignty of Pakistan which gets hurt just by any hint of ‘bilateral relations’ of any type with any country. It may be termed as upholding an isolated sovereignty or an all-dominant sovereignty in a world populated with a large number of sovereign countries. 2. That we are unable to see the merits of the KLB in its proper context is both cause and effect of this fuss persisting from the highest military ranks to the lower intellectual strata of our society.

Pentagon ramps up direct military aid to Pakistan

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Dawn- Saturday, 17 Oct, 2009 WASHINGTON: The Pentagon is ramping up delivery of military equipment long sought by the Pakistani army to fight militants, US officials said on Friday. Some $200 million worth of equipment and services already in the pipeline for Pakistan has started to arrive but officials declined to provide full details, saying many of the more sophisticated items were classified. Some programs have run into resistance from Islamabad, which is wary of appearing too close to Washington, they said.

Pakistan aid plan hit as ‘counterproductive’

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A senior USAID economist, C. Stuart Callison, has written a formal dissent memo entitled “Dissent memo: Contradictory objectives for USAID/Pakistan program,” to the Director of the State Department Policy Palnning Office, which tells that the USAID mission in Pakistan is “receiving contradictory objectives” from Holbrook about U.S. aid for Pakistan. [The formal dissent memo can be downloaded from Box.Net file sharing on the Blog] Dawn- Oct 13, 2009 WASHINGTON: An economist at the US international aid agency has protested that special envoy Richard Holbrooke is micromanaging a giant package to Pakistan in a ‘shockingly counterproductive’ way, a memo showed Monday. The dispute comes as the five-year, 7.5 billion-dollar US plan also faces intense criticism in Pakistan, where the powerful military has said that the package carries too many conditions.

Will Pakistan Army Wake Up Now ? Aey Mard e Mujahid jaag Zara

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Would it be too rude to say that Pakistan Army had it coming? No, I mean, literally. As reported in the media, there were intelligence reports that the attack on GHQ was imminent and had been well planned. Two facts stand out about the armed terrorists who attacked. a. They knew they will not be able to come out alive from the heavily guarded military headquarters. These were highly trained and motivated terrorists who wanted to make a big impact by attacking the nerve centre of Pakistan Army. b. The terrorist must have known that the attack was going to have more of a symbolic value than anything else. In fact this is akin to attack on Pentagon and World Trade Centre. In an irony some may say that GHQ can be seen as representing both the corporate and military interests in Pakistan. This was an audacious attack, whose consequences and implications had been undoubtedly, thought through. However, most probably, where terrorists failed is that they may have hoped to prolong their action and inflict …

Attack on GHQ, Rawalpindi

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Eight terrorists attacked the General Head Quarters of Pakistan army, GHQ as it is known as, in Rawalpindi this morning at about 11:30 am. Four of terrorists were killed and two arrested. According to the latest news a member of ”Amjad Faruqi Group” of Tehreek e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in a call made to the office of a prominent news channel has claimed the responsibility of the attack on GHQ. The person has told that they demand: 1-     Halt of operation in northern areas 2-     Accountability of former President Pervez Musharraf 3-     Return of black water and, 4-     Closure of Western NGOs The question is that are these really the motives behind the attack? Clearly even the perpetrators would have known that the attack will have no more than a symbolic value. The question is who benefits from this symbolic attack.

Zardari asks party leaders to defend Kerry-Lugar

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Dawn ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: President Asif Ali Zardari has urged PPP leaders and ministers to vigorously respond to criticism of party and government’s policies by political adversaries. “We have been elected by the people through a democratic and constitutional process and our legitimacy coupled with good governance should be the chief weapons to fight back the opponents,” he said while addressing top party leadership at the Presidency during a discussion on the current domestic political situation on Monday night.

Pakistan and US aid

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By Shahid Javed Burki- Dawn Editorial DIRECTLY or indirectly the United States has been involved in helping Pakistan develop its economy. It is good to acquaint ourselves with the history of this involvement in order to prepare for what is likely to come. The strategy of growth adopted by Pakistan in the early days of independence was a reaction to some of the measures adopted by India in dealing with its new neighbour. One element of this strategy was that it forced the country to industrialise quickly by seeking to become self-sufficient in the production of basic manufactured goods.

Kerry Lugar:Bill or Document of Surrender?

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Published in The News on Oct 2, 2009 Ayaz Amir The Kerry-Lugar bill, just passed by the US Congress and expected to be signed soon by President Obama, leaves an odd taste in the mouth. After wading through its tortuous prose, Pakistan seems less an ally than a rogue state straight out of the pages of science fiction. A convicted rapist out on parole would be required to give fewer assurances of good conduct for the future than Pakistan is required to give in order to receive assistance under this legislation. And for this the Pakistani nation is expected to go down on its knees and thank the US for its unbounded munificence. If this is American friendship, hostility sounds like a better option.