Dawn.com invites its readers to debate current affairs in this forum.
US Senator John Kerry arrived in Pakistan on Monday to discuss a proposed bill envisaging US$1.5 billion of economic assistance per year to Pakistan over the next five years. During his visit, Senator Kerry, who is also the Chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, will touch on regional and security issues in meetings with President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, but the focus will be on future civilian and military aid.
If you could share a cup of tea with Senator Kerry during his stay in Islamabad, what would you ask him about the US’s plan for non-military assistance to Pakistan? How do you think non-military aid, which Pakistan is due to receive under the Kerry-Lugar bill, should be spent? What would you suggest Senator Kerry insist upon during meetings with the Pakistani leadership on how to distribute and allocate civilian aid?
Asif Zardari should not be the custodian of this money for obvious reasons pls.
Only if dawns upon us all that making weapons to kill innocents in the name of peace and liberation is nothing but a facade for indulging in violence.
Why not have dialogues and talks,treaties and understanding?
WMDS massacares millions of innocents.Right?
Why not do away with all WMDS once and for all?
Violence breeds violence.
Why spend on it?
Why not for the progress,prosperity and peace for Pakistan and worldwide?
What we see even now nothing much is being done for the uplift of the poor,instead the facilities are for the rich not poor.
Why have facades?
Deeds are louder then words ,so why not show something that you have done so far for the awaam ie people.
Only if people take out one fifth from their profits that would wipe off poverty.
If you do it honestly no haira pheri.
Thank you for providing the opportunity to write on this great topic which was boiling in my head since 1993. Pakistan is a country full of resources and full of hard working intelligent people. There are however, problems which may need to be taken care of. Corruption and pride in corruption is the base of the problem. The amount of aid may not be insufficient if utilized properly in creating sustainable resources. We have had billions coming in during Zia-ul-Haq era but went into filling the bellies of the rich. I remember being flooded once and never saw a drop of water in my home coming from anywhere. Now when I look back I see a clear picture that all the aid came through well connected people and thus only remain at that level. The eight of us spent the long winter nights in one comforter drenched in rain water under the left over roof. The flood has created a very pathetic situation. There was no sanitation or proper drinking water. We were probably laughed by the donors and the connected people who for themselves and their close relatives got more than enough by keeping our part as well. I wonder how such people get to sleep at night. To go forward, I propose the following:
1) The funds must be utilized properly and with transparency. The money must be spent wisely. I believe we do not need 10 billion a year to make progress. We need to identify sincere people and have x-pat keep an eye on the spending. All spending must be accounted for dollar for dollar on a daily basis and be posted online on a weekly basis. We must put proper check and balance on spending.
2) Energy and education: We need to establish energy resources. Quality education is a must for both male and female. Built schools and libraries and create scholarships and create exchange opportunities for the students at a local level as well as province level. Arrange tours for the students and parents to allow them to see that there is life out there.
3) Create jobs now and for the future so people can be independent and not at the mercy of militants.
4) Stop drone attacks because, you can not make friends by attacking them but get them on your side and the menace of militancy will go away. These people are good in friendship and will easier to get them on our side once we put proper people in place.
5) Increase security by providing suitable technologies to the army.
6) Surveillance may not be a bad idea to create check and balance. This could be controversial but needed.
7) Money should not be disbursed through Arbabs, Malaks, politicians or vedaras and must reach the needy. These people may be purchased at additional cost but not ask them to police and handle the disbursement.
8). One can not impose conditions on a region which has seen violence for centuries and expect that the violence will stop just by putting conditions on them. People need to get educated first before you can expect a change. One needs to invest first and then expect return. This investment may require a generation.
10) Provide pens and books instead of guns and bullets. Please some one get up and help the century old problem by educating the people of the region. Please take a step and provide security and show them a different life style. Please show them air condition in summer and heating in winter. Please help show them alternate better life and make them believe that better life exist. I know how it is like to be growing up there. I know how hard it is to be some one living in such areas where in summer it is hard to breath, read or write. Candle light may sounds romantic until you try to use it for studying in hot summer where mosquitoes feeding on your blood and you drenched in your wet clothes form sweat. There is much more needed than said but this should provide a good start.
Senator Kerry should insist on spending all the civilian aid on EDUCATION in Pakistan.I suggest the following should be done about education:
First of all it is the mindset of the planners that has to be corrected. I hear the emphasis is on general education to be introduced in the MADRESSAH as if the education otherwise in other institutions is right. This is far from so.
A team of religious teachers should be raised all over the country. These teachers go to various schools and give one hour compulsory religious education to all levels at least two sessions of classes each week. Each district and city to have a few teachers and they go round.
With this system adapted the extremism and the terrorism will disappear.
did zardari mention to the americans that pakistan has cut back spending on health, education etc to fund the war on terror ? or that exporters now have to pay higher premium of insurance or how it will take a generation to clear pakistan image?
1) open 4 free or heavily subsided hospital specialising in preventive medicine and maternity and 16 colleges in Quetta and Peshawar
2) Rebuild the destroyed areas such as bajur agency so IDP can move back home
3) Train Our police force to create a new unit of armoured commandos which can be rapidly deployed , to protect economic and infrastructure units. The terrorist walking unchallenged into bruner is unacceptable
4) Increase Police pay thought out the country after all the job is getting more riskier
5) All unis in pakistan must teach in urdu not english
6) open a special college to train civil servants because the current batch are idiots
7) Open Factories to create employment in particularly in NWFP and Balouchistan
8). Make sure all troops wear bullet proof vest on the eastern border
9) Create A network of tax agents who make sure everyone pays tax
Beggars are not choosers.
Americans will spend this money same way as they have spent last 10 billion for us. So on papers we have received that 10 billion but in reality that money is transferred from one US banks account to another US bank account i.e. American government’s bank account to American consultancy firm bank account.
What have we received? Few “gora” consultant, their clumsy reports and unlimited international humiliation.
I think we must say NO to this aid.
All 16 points i have mentioned will require more than 100 billion$. Therefore, say good bye to US aid and get help from chinese to build these projects, dont get cash from them but get their expertise and soft loans to complete, a prime example is Gwadar and nuke plants in Chashma.
Plus as a nation we should show dignity and refuse US aid, learn from iran to live as a dignified nation
1) increasing number of universities in our country to target 35% of pakistanis going to universities
2) create “FAST” rail and road insfrastrucute in our country where there is non available, like gilgit, FATA, baluchistan
3) Create nuclear, wind mills and small scale dams in our country
4) create ship building industry for international market
5) mine coal for coal based powerplants, like khar (increase productivity)
6) introduce genetically alterated foods in pakistan to increase productivity and resistant to disease
7) purify and store more oil through oil refinaries to coup of breakdown in world oil market
8). provide universal health servies to every pakistani national in pakistan based on systems in canada or europe
9) create more waste sewer cleaning plants and provide clean water to every pakistani
10) make our taxation system more transparent
11) work on to eliminate corruption out of judiciary
12) make sure we create rail road links to china, afghanistan, iran and india to increase our transit trade income.
13) not but least, increase the wages of every govt official based on increase in inflastion in pakistan to avoid corruption
14) give ethics classes to each and every pakistani so not to indulge in class race based on money (legacy system of britishers)
15) Give thorough understanding of Quran to every pakistani through class 1 till 12 completing whole quranic translation once to avoid our religion being hijacked by so-called muslims.
16) in big cities create metro train systems (subways) to avoid congestion of traffic. overhead trains in karachi like chicago and undergound in lahore/faisalabad, multan and rawalpindi
1. infrastructure that is resistant to climate (i.e. proper drainage system for roads to avoid flooding and deterioration of streets during monsoon season)
2. more organized and accessible public transportation (with PROPER security check- pakistanis have a tendency to be lazy) for workers living outside of cities
3. improve education- but also increase salaries and/or improve contracts with teachers to abolish and prevent teacher absenteeism- what’s the point of building a school if the teachers aren’t going to show up? This is a huge issue in Pakistani- especially in towns and outskirts of main cities-where terrorist organizations tend to recruit their frustrated, impoverished and desperate followers.
4. security for civilians- someone mentioned security cameras, which is a good idea, but security needs to go beyond that.
5. electricity available for households while also keeping reasonable and sustainable goals that are environmentally healthy.
Unfortunately, although education is extremely important and THE tool to end and prevent terrorism, at this point, all problems that I mentioned above are inextricably linked and need to be recognized.
We will divide the aid among party members! Well, Pakistanis already know how to survive! Motto of the leadership! Now what is next question?
Education, Healthcare. provision of clean water and electricity obviously are issues to be addressed; however it will take years before the effects of addressing them is reflected on the state of militancy.
What is needed immediately is a huge PR effort to attenuate the religiosity in which the country is awash and counter the rabid and false image of Islam that the savages i.e. Taliban and their supporters are spreading, through programs on the radio and TV, establishing powerful stations that can beam their message of tolerance day in and day out and rebutting the poisonous teachings of the Mullahs. It is a long shot but just might slow down the inexorable descent into hell.
Why is Pakistan always depending on aid? it is shameful to my mind to be demanding largese from others as a matter of course.
The aid should help Pakistan’s energy problem. It should go into R&D to help make Pakistan energy independent and use its blessed resources. Pakistan has tremendous wind, solar, and bio fuel potential and should utilize them to be the a technologically advanced country in the 21st century. Pakistan should manufacture wind turbines and solar panels not only for domestic purposes but also to export them.
Pakistanis are living in denial. They cannot face the fact that their state is in danger. Their economy is on life support. Their government controls ever decreasing amounts of territory. Their nuclear assets remain under the control agencies who are suspected to be filled with a disturbing number of jihadists. And when they do acknowledge any of these items, they knowingly confide that these are the results of interference by India, America or even Israel. In no way, is Pakistan itself responsible for its own predicament. Pakistanis needs to end the denial, and focus on what is in plain view. They need to start experiencing the outrage at what is going on in their country. The rest of the world is.
http://dailyexception.com/2009/04/05/pakistan-determined-to-remain-in-denial/
Well it is nice to read so many comments every body has made his/her point. I suggest this money should go to education, energy and security.
1) Up-to-date education specially technical education like 3-5 years of work and education programs that create not only academics but also skilled work force.
2) Energy, sun,water and air. We need to realize we have abundance of these things but we are not utilizing it. Need to work on solar and wind energy, bio gas. its important to overhaul irrigation system.
3) security i mean internal security police need to be equipped. need to make central data system for criminals, all court decision should be available through data bank. It is important to maintain records of all people in the country through NADRA. From birth to death local/muncipal councils should keep this record in co-operation with Nadra. With change in address local councils should be notified and through registration it would be easy to control many things.
Firstly, I reproduce here the EXACT PHRASE used by a Pakistan reader in the discussion forums of Dawn a few days ago where he had stated that “BEGGARS CAN’T BE CHOOSERS”.
However, I must say that I don’t subscribe to that statement just as most Pakistanis and their leaders are, who proudly claim at every opportunity (and rightfully so) that Pakistan is not a banana republic, but a nuclear armed nation of 160 million people, with the world’s third largest army.
Add to this the fact that unlike the poor African or Latin American countries, Pakistan has the financial backing of rich Arab countries whose aid most comes with no strings attached.
Therefore, my suggestion to Pakistan would be:
a) Please do NOT compromise your honor by begging the west for aid, but
b) try to manage the inequalities within the country be ensuring that areas like Baluchistan, FATA, SWAT get their due share in proportion to the wealth generated by these areas through their rich natural resources that are currently being devoured by the other politically powerful regions like Punjab and Sindh.
Only by following this approach will you have the inalienable right to claim that Pakistan is indeed no push-over, and that you stand firmly on your own two feet; failing which, I must say that it becomes difficult to disagree with our Pakistani friend.
Pakistan should learn how to stand on her own feet without any foreign crutches.
Every body loves money, but self respect is more important.
If Mr. Kerry is giving us money with assurance that no conditions are attached as well as no dictation would follow, then I suggest this money should be spent on the following:
Building Dams, quality education to everyone, improved health care to all, improving road arteries and more free ways all across Pakistan, technical education, improved measures for the population control, and policing improvement etc.
In the end, I would request Mr. Kerry that Pakistan be supported through foreign investments which is better than financial help.
The majority of the Aid money should be spent on establishing an Educational infrastructure. The Pakistani govt does not even know what is taught in their schools, or what the children learn. No other country that has a stable government, that we know of, allows that to happen. Ridiculous.
Madrassas should require a license to stay open. Establish a uniform curriculum with Science, Math, and Unbiased History. Beef up the Engineering colleges. Require your Madrassas to be accredited with an Educational Body that has the authority to audit these curricula, including unannounced surprise visits that quiz the students on what they learn on a daily basis.
Audit your textbooks. Do they really teach authentic history, or are they really propaganda to indoctrinate the children?
Any Madrassas that fail to comply should be shut down and their license revoked.
Think about this — the Indians established Engineering Colleges like the IITs long ago, and that, in spite of the population growth, was the single factor that catapulted India into the Knowledge Elite countries of the world.
The rest of the money should be spent on infrastructure and job creation, but unless Pakistanis invest in education as their first priority, they are doomed. They will become the Somalia of Asia.
Dear Fund holder
Please address the current issues our beloved country is facing:-
1 Security issues (By installing visible and hidden Cameras at imortant check points)backed up by dedicated special security force in all major cities. Police should be used more effectively rather than creating problems for ordinary peaple. Imroving the commuication and coordination od our work security forces.
2.Devoloping Electricity (Nuclear reactor, building new dams to meet next 30 years requirement. Improving the state of current Dams and Canals for better irrigation system in the country.
3.Research and technology
Thank you
Pakistan is not a small banana republic, it’s nuclear armed nation of 165 million people. It needs a “Marshall Plan”, to help economic development to root out poverty, which has lead to extremism and terrorism. A mere $1.5 billion though welcome, is not enough, as real need is for atleast $10 billion annually for the next five years.
Even this is small, compared to hundreds of billions of dollars, the US has spent in Iraq and Afghanistan annually. This assistance should be transparent and managed by NGOs and foreign agencies, for maximum benefit to the people of Pakistan. Yes, education is necessary but that is long term, healthcare is urgent, but poverty allevation, job creation projects are needed immediately. A word for military assistance, to fight and beat the tough extremists and terrorists infesting the vast rugged mountains along Pak-Afghan border, US should provide assistance for rapid deployment of forces, which require helicopters, night vision scopes etc. These
have been promised, but have been slow in coming. Lastly, Pakistan has suffered more casualties in the war on terror, than any other country, let the world note that, and fully support this front-line nation to combat this threat to the world.
I was reading all the remarks by my Pakistani friends and saw that the people realize that the issue is internal. Atleast we have that part correct, second being keep the govt out of it. What I don’t understand is the fact that if the people were against the govt why don’t they mass protest like the Thai protesters to get the govt to resign. A govt without people’s support is like an orphan.
US aid should be in the form of education-right.
Pakistan should institute a RTI law (Right to Information). This was recently passed in India and the effect is ground-breaking. Wherever you spend the aid amount, as long as it is transparent and any citizen can access the information, it will be ensured that it is not used to line up some corrupt politician’s pocket.
first of all,
the aid must be used to buld infrastructure priojects not on developing beaurecracy.power shortages are a paiful reality the aid should be used to gas and coal ower plants in short term and kalbagh dam in long term and if possible alternative energy sources.again the empahasis must be o infrastructures schools universities etc .this is the only way aid would be useful otherwise no need for aid as it will go in pocket of corrupt politicians
Standardize lower education
Provide Microloans to boost cottege industry tied to traditional education of chilren (to compete with Madrassa funds from Saudi)
Invest in propaganda against talibanization.
To get all these to fly – invest in security.