Secretary
of State Clinton meets with Pakistan Prime Minister
Gillani:
Is America waiving carrots it has no ability to provide?
The Frontier Post, Pakistan
'Unpredictable American Leaders' May Never Send Aid to Pakistan
"They also forgot about the F-16's we paid for with our
own cold cash, although they never forgot to charge us parking fees for planes
they flatly refused to deliver. When, years later, they agreed to refund our
money, they didn't do so in cash, but in soybean oil, which we could have
purchased much cheaper somewhere else. Who can say if things will be any
different this time? America’s leaders are so unpredictable that no psychic or
astrologer would try to answer."
The prime minister [Yousaf Raza
Gillani] has again reminded Friends of Democratic
Pakistan that his country cannot win the war on terror without international
support. If that's true, then we are doomed.
[Editorial's Note: The founding
members of Friends of Democratic Pakistan included Britain, France, Germany,
the United States, China, the U.A.E., Canada, Turkey, Australia and Italy plus
the United Nations and the European Union. Other countries also joined and at
the meeting held in Abu Dhabi in April 2009 a total of 24 member states and
international organizations attended.]
Some $5 billion in aid has been
pledged by this club of friends, but over two years have elapsed and not
a dime has poured in. If it has, it's a closely guarded secret. The government
keeps appealing, beseeching and cajoling these friends to make good on
their promises, but no such softening is in evidence. Indeed, outgoing Finance Minister
Shaukat Tarin innocently included their pledged aid into his budget, and soon
later found himself, along with the state’s finances, in a tight spot. Despite
frantic appeals, nothing was forthcoming from donors, and the poor man had to work
hard to salvage the nation from its unenviable predicament.
To help Pakistan overcome its
grave power crisis, now we're informed that the friends have agreed to begin
executing proposals for an Integrated Energy Sector Recovery Report straightway,
without waiting for its approval by the Brussels ministerial meeting. For
heaven’s sake, must the simplest thing be so complicated?
Indeed, what has come of even
that “destiny-changing” annual U.S. dole of $1.5 billion, the puny prospects of
which transported the simpletons in Islamabad into visions of golden times and
opulent sunshine? Months have gone by since the U.S. Congress sanctioned that
yearly charity, together with an array of demeaning and humiliating conditions,
yet the tap still seems closed. If anything has quietly trickled in, it hasn't
been publicized and is known only to officials.
What we do know, is that the
measly sum of $125 million was promised months ago to somewhat refurbish the
country’s greatly-troubled energy sector. What we see are intermittent rounds
of "strategic dialogue" and endless meetings between working groups
meant to enliven bilateral relations and improve cooperation with the U.S. It
remains to be seen what will become of the program if, by the time it's
complete and takes operational form, the Obama Administration will have
achieved its objectives in Afghanistan and begun to pull out.
Hillary Clinton holds meeting
with Pakistan journalists.
This has happened
before. The U.S. pledged $4.2 billion in economic and military aid while we fought
their proxy war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. Not even half of that had arrived
when the invaders withdrew, and our American friends instantly forgot all about
the place. They also forgot about the F-16’s we paid for with our own cold
cash, although they never forgot to charge us parking fees for planes they
flatly refused to deliver. When, years later, they agreed to refund our money,
they didn't do so in cash, but in a commodity - soybean oil, which we could
have purchased much cheaper somewhere
else. Who can say if things will be any different this
time? America’s leaders are so unpredictable that no psychic or astrologer
would try to answer.
Isn't it mystifying that
pledged aid, in any form, is taking so long to make its way into the country - and
even with the Islamabad leadership having acquiesced to Washington's insulting
conditions? The prime minister should bear one thing clearly in mind: nations
have to fight their own battles; outsiders can't fight them in their place.
Those who rely on others end up nothing but servants, with wars failing and
faltering. Those who rely on themselves are the ones to emerge triumphant. To
do so, though, requires extraordinary imagination, innovation, resourcefulness
and, above all, sacrifice. As yet, officials in Islamabad have demonstrated
none of these qualities. If they have them at all, they must show it now.
The Pakistani leadership mustn't
remain so foolishly oblivious to reality: the world is enmeshed in a global
recession that is drastically limiting the capacity of even traditionally
generous donors to help those in need. The nation must mobilize the resources
to fight its own battles. How the government goes about doing so will be the
true test of the prime minister’s leadership, and of his team’s talent, ingenuity,
and resourcefulness.
