The Islamabad and Washington have almost clinched a deal over the agreement of re-opening the Nato supply routes in the near future that had been closed after an attack of US troops upon the Pakistani security forces at Salala in November. It is being said that the routes will soon re-open as decision has been taken by Pakistani authorities and as a result of which the US would pay all the outstanding dues that at the present moment amount to a total sum of $2.5 billion, with only $1.34 billion calculated for the current fiscal year.
The reimbursement of the coalition support fund is something that the government is eyeing with great relish considering that all previous payments of the coalition support fund had been pocketed by the government after allocating a small percentage for the security forces, that is, only $2 billion out of a total of $20billion that was being claimed. And that too was given in the form of services and war gadgets. The rest had been utilized by the state.
Again, keeping in mind the state of the economy, and with the upcoming budget for the fiscal year 2012-13, the prospect of any monetary aid at this critical juncture where the government is looking towards the IMF yet again to cover fiscal deficits would surely be welcome. Furthermore, according to the US National Defence Authorization Act, US lawmakers have voted for an amendment that may serve to block a payment of $650million to Pakistan if the supply lines remain closed. The blocking of routes, therefore, is directly linked with the blocking of funds.
It won’t be wrong if we say that the US aid is equally significant for Pakistan as the supplies are for the Americans. That the authorities have submitted and decided to open the routes despite the fact that no official apology has been made by the Americans so far for what happened at Salala, makes a mockery of us at a global level. The security forces have suffered colossal loss in terms of precious lives of soldiers and a whopping slash in budgetary allocations. That the Pakistani government needs money is evident, but it is also indicative of how the democratically elected government compromises the sovereignty of the state and facilitates its own incompetence.
LUBNA HAMEED
Rawalpindi
