US President Barrack Obama pledged to released the long-awaited US$ 1.6 billion aid to Pakistan, during the visit of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Evidently, the amount says a lot about the future mutual relationship between Pakistan and US.
Pakistan’s administration during the All Parties Conference earlier this year, condemned the drone attacks resolutely; they have been killing hundreds and thousands of innocent civilians to target a few militant leaders. This act of generosity by the US government says out loud that how aggressive Islamabad’s approach would be towards the ‘Anti-Drone Policy’. Well seemingly, it is not a revelation that those lost lives and the citizens living in the Northwest of Pakistan, once again are being sold out.
However, this type of ‘bursary’ is certainly filling out our national treasury with ‘Big Bucks’. Well as our history depicts, the national treasury with a black hole will once again lose the aid in the blink of an eye, thanks to our magicians in the administration with very deep pockets and voracious appetite for dollars. Considering all the facts, the question to ask is “Are the lives of our brothers and sisters in the northwest Pakistan so cheap that they can be labelled by a price tag? Another question I would like to ask our government is when will we grow tired of being sold for the leisure of our administration?
Well if aid is so necessary than why are people of Pakistan being overburdened with loads of taxes, price hike of utilities and necessity products. These aids have nevertheless supported Pakistan’s administration in a few developments in the past few years, but are the cost paid resultantly worth it. I guess only time will tell how crippled or strong these lavish funding would be for the people of Pakistan. Though history proves that it will never benefit the common man only provide luxury to the few elite inside group, how come IMF never asks them to sell their personal properties to pay back the loans?
AROOJ SHABBIR,
Rawalpindi, November 18.