It is strange that we should be protesting the incursions of the US forces and unmanned aircraft to bomb the tribal area. Recently, they bombed the settled area of Bannu district as well. It is strange, because in the same breath we are begging the US to give us money to cope with our financial melt down. But, as a friend of mine puts it, we are attaining new heights of shamelessness. Indifferent to any nuance of morality, the government has no qualms of conscience about protesting physical violation and borrowing at the same time, from the same party. That is why we go round the world capitals with a begging bowl and jubilate when the IMF gives a mild nod of approval. The so-called Friends of Pakistan too showed a lack of trust (understandable because of our chronic financial mismanagement) until the IMF had said yes, curbing our financial independence. How strange that the government should celebrate the occasion with jubilation. Pakistan is a serious case of behavioural disorder. Burning the candle at both ends, governments one after another have shown a nonchalant attitude to the whole question of loans. Billions of dollars in debt and foreign aid has not raised people's standard of living. Public education is a shamble and same is the case with health, public transport and the rest of the social sector. With over forty percent people below the poverty line (one dollar a day) and more going down, the foreign aid seems to disappear into the pockets of the rich who flaunt their opulence in the face of stark deprivation all around. This is the natural consequence of long years of unrepresentative governments and quasi democracy. Pakistan started asking for aid early. Soon after the country was born (August 14, 1947), and unable to bear the hardships of independence, emissaries were being dispatched to the US, as narrated by Tariq Ali in a recent book. The US, initially reluctant because of world power focus on India, finally relented during revision of policy in the Korean War in the fifties. It was thus in 1953-54 that military aid came to Pakistan as the country signed up on SEATO (1954) and CENTO (1955), US led military pacts. The sordid tale is too well known to be repeated as the beginning of a downhill journey, away from self-reliance. But there is another interesting story (if a little embarrassing) within the story as narrated by Tariq Ali in his recent book. The first special envoy was sent to the US through Chase National Bank of New York President (who "improved" the draft letter he carried) to the State Department asking for money in 1947-48. The plea taken was a Soviet threat on the country's western borders, something that the Americans did not consider imminent. He then kept scaling the request down, coming to the level of support for a paper mill in which he had personal interest The request was declined. Sir Feroze Khan Noon, nicknamed "Darkness at Noon" by a local English newspaper, a pro-British Muslim League stalwart who was then on his way to Turkey, was asked to approach the US Ambassador in Ankara to ask for aid. He drafted a "confidential memorandum" for the State Department which has been quoted by Tariq Ali and I take the liberty of reproducing the quotation: "The Musalmans in Pakistan are against Communism. The Hindus have an ambassador in Moscow, Mrs Pandit, who is the Hindu prime minister in Delhi, Mr Nehru, and the Russians have got an ambassador in Delhi, the Hindu capital. We the Musalmans of Pakistan have no ambassador in Moscow nor is there any ambassador in Karachi - our capital.... If USA helps Pakistan to become a strong and independent country... then the people of Pakistan will fight to last man against Communism to preserve their freedom and preserve their way of life." As an official inter-state communication it must go down as one of the most embarrassing pieces of writing in diplomatic literature. When the communication evoked no response, Sir Feroze approached the Turkish government for military equipment. They too turned him down (and informed Washington). Over sixty years later, we still hold the begging bowl. The reflection is painful but the responsibility for this does not rest with the people who have continually toiled to keep the country going. The trouble is the poor leadership and the elite classes that sap the creative energy of the nation. They have enriched themselves at the cost of this country and never held to account. India accuses us for the Mumbai tragedy they have just suffered. Karachi killing fields, in a weird quark of fate, erupt as the Mumbai attack takes place. The trouble in FATA has not diminished. The threat of terrorism deepens the disconnection between the government and reality. Suicide bombing is recurrent in the cities of the NWFP. Stop and search operations have become routine in Islamabad, the capital. Street crime is pervasive. What a great country to be living in The writer is a former ambassador at large