ISLAMABAD, April 29: Pakistan and the United States have finalized details of a $701 million military and economic assistance package to be offered to Islamabad in November, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said on Thursday.
“The US government has sent a formal request to the US Congress to approve a $701 million military and economic assistance programme for Pakistan which is to be approved on November 1 along with the US budget for 2005,” he said.
Talking to Dawn here on Thursday after his return from a visit to the United States, Mr Shaukat Aziz said he had held useful talks with senior US officials besides meeting the functionaries of the US Exim Bank, USAID and the chief of the economic wing of the National Security Council.
He said the Bush administration had decided to offer $300 million each as part of the military and economic assistance programme for Pakistan. “Then, additionally, they have approved $101 million development assistance for health, education, narcotics control and law enforcement,” he said.
In the 80's Americans pumped in almost 4 billion dollars to keep the economy stable. Zia was also a key ally in war against the terrorists of the 80's. The american economic assistance was the sole reason for the 6% GDP. I regret nothing has changed since.
I am reading a book that quotes William Casey suggesting it was $500 million.
Moreover, I regret to see that you fail to appreciate the hardwork done by Shaukat and his team. By stating that the GDP growth (8% according to the books I’ve read) during the 80’s was because of US, you’re also being unappreciative of the work done by late Dr. Mahboob.
An offer to Pakistan of $400 million was turned down by Zia as Peanuts. A military and economic package of over $3 billion was offered by the Reagan administration in the early 80s to Zia. Another $4 billion. 6-year aid package was signed in 1986.
Any country's economic growth depends on its factors of production. But in case of Pakistan, American economic assistance and its policies towards pakistan play a very important role. Some debt relief, more economic aid and lifting of some imposed sanctions are the main reasons of its current, somehow better, economic condition than the real economic growth.
I think Pakistan should ask US to rename this as compensation :) anyway whenever US uses Pakistan. because of WAR and fights in the region, Pakistan suffers economic set backs which always cripling anyway.
What u think Afghan war didnt do any damage to pak? in 80's? many are still there in Pak.
but anyway, make a choice
leave any aid and become strong enough that they will not force you to accept any hard term. That will be best.
accept this and at the same time keep working to develop PAkistan.
dont accept this and face sanctions or may be war, and be another Iraq.
choice is yours
I would go for 1st one!
given the conditions I will go for 2nd and keep working to be in position of 1 in future.
Is this the same amreeka that ate our F16 money.... yah yah AID AID or is it AIDS... !!! when push comes to shove plenty AIDS :) famously known as jab ____ laghi phtney tho khairaat lagi bhtney...
Why are Indians happier to see Pakestan go down than to see India progress?
Why are Indians more sad when Pakestan benefits than when India faces a set-back?
Such a psychological mind-set will lead to nowhere!: play as many cricket matches and recite as many poems as you want............but ultimately the truth shines through!.
What are we thanking them for? I think it is our hard earned money, just look at what we have been doing for them since 9/11 and you would know what i mean :p
Yeah thanks for that really. We need the cash. Our domestic debt is nearly 40% of our total revenue earned. Our Forex is only 12 billion, we have no FDI coming into help develop the country and its economy where are we gonna get the Forex to pay international companies to build our sectors?
Thats right loans.
Few people realise that developing countries need loans as we lack the technology and the required expertise to develop the more advanced aspects of our society and economy.
Shawaiz i am quite appalled at the incorrect statements you have made. FDI does not increase growth or GDP. It has an affect but it is never the single factor which affects growth. If it did, India and Brazil would have had double digit growth since the 80s.
The statement that FDI or economic aid is the main factor that helps growth is a myth that was disproven over 50 years ago. It is an important factor but never the main one.
Well after writing of 25% of our debt to the US, the current loan system is divided equally to 1 billion dollars per "sector" for the next 5 years. So it just depends what our people do with the money.
Shawaiz:
Debt relief doesnt help the economy. It eliminates the outflow of cash. Which in pakistan's case goes into the pocket of our corrupt politicians. Thus no affect on the economy.
Aid is not enough to help uplift an economy because Aid packages are just another term for loans. There has been no Aid in the world after 1970. The last country to do so for pakistan was china and that was in 1971. As these are loans we gotta pay them back so not much help eh?
OK first of all, learn to spell its ammunition, secondly our troops are better equipped then some other armies ib asia, the only reason we suffered heavy casulties was due to miscalculation, heavy handness, underetimation and poor tactical command.
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1. Debt relief doesnt help the economy. It eliminates the outflow of cash. Which in pakistan's case goes into the pocket of our corrupt politicians. Thus no affect on the economy.*
Relief and rescheduling of debts allows a country to increase its public expenditures, you have more money to expend.
2. Aid is not enough to help uplift an economy because Aid packages are just another term for loans. There has been no Aid in the world after 1970. The last country to do so for pakistan was china and that was in 1971. As these are loans we gotta pay them back so not much help eh?
Bush had offered a $3 billion aid package to Musharraf at the Camp David meeting. These kind of Aid packages gives a boost to economy. But it is only an impermanent stability, the rich gets richer and the masses remain poor. And not to forget the impact of the lifting of sanctions and increased remittances (again american Aid a major source).
American sanctions would hurt any economy, including Japan. US is the largest market so I dont know how and why the question of sanction comes up everytime. The sanctions were designed to hurt the economy and they did. Now arguing that lifting of the sanctions is abnormal and that Pak. economy is mainly growing because of that is a redundant statement.
