This disorder is often associated with mental competency.
“Disorder can play a critical role in giving birth to new, higher form of order.”
Margaret Wheatley: an American writer.
Hi readers! Don’t you think this is exactly,
“what have we had and been experiencing over the years in this country”?
Why do I think so, is a big question? which I will try to answer in this blog.
In the blog on From the bank of Nile to the Ashes of Kashgher I mentioned that CPEC project was put under cold storage for the reasons known to all and sundry and included:
Significant burden on Pakistan’s balance of payment,
Debt owed to China increased in 5 years of time,
The economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic slowed progress on CPEC projects,
Worsened Pakistan’s economic crisis, left China hesitant to grant leniency on debt payments,
Project was supposed to give a boost to job creation in Pakistan through industrialization and increasing exports which could not materialize and so does the job creation,
The costs of fossil fuel and aging power grids led to continued power shortages despite expansion in energy infrastructure, and
Construction in Baluchistan faced violence from local militants opposed to CPEC projects in their area.
These reasons are known to the public, others are not disclosed officially, but people knows.
Ironically, we have all the excuses to put the CPEC on to the back burner but have never debated the gross incompetence in every sphere of Pakistan.
We talk about exports but despite getting GSP plus status, were unable to increase our exports to the level the Bangladesh is exporting without GSP status,
We talk about sugar export at the cost of skyrocketing prices coupled with artificial shortage in the local market,
We talked about Basmati rice export, but we do not know even the true definition and number of Basmati varieties that we are growing in Pakistan,
Do we know that:
Basmati-370 is a joint heritage of India and Pakistan?
Basmati supper is evolved in Kala Shah Kaku, Pakistan?
Basmati “Duplicate” is evolved in India (purposely),
Karnal Basmati is a farmer’s selection made in Pakistan, far superior to “Basmati Supper”, has extensively expanded and cultivated in India as selections of Karnal Basmati (India export this variety),
If our rice farmers wants to safeguard the interests of India who is fetching premium price in the European market on such varieties then,
Who’s wrongdoing this?
We talked about industrialization without looking and assessing our work culture which is based on hiding our lethargic and deceiving attitude through taking refuge behind religion (remember the brutal murder of Sri Lankan Manager),
Was it the wrongdoing of CPEC?
Do we know that out of 1, we ranked at:
0.25 in accountable governance,
0.11 in absence of corruption,
0.29 in open government,
0.19 in economic gender gap,
0.38 in business and investment environment,
0.47 in trade freedom,
0.22 in environment policy,
Where do we stand in our various Capacities? We rank.
0.41 in handling and running government,
0.27 in tax policy,
0.31 in safety and security,
0.71 in civil society and media,
0.26 in poverty rate,
0.26 in education quality,
0.77 in child health,
0.39 in GDP per capita,
0.16 in information and communication technology (ICT), and
0.43 in export sophistication
Who is prohibiting us from working on these issues? Any answer?
To see the details of our ranking and various capacities, please visit https://roadmaps.usaid.gov/country/pakistan (all data is latest)
The problem is that we are used to Aid and not Trade. We are used to having easy money and do not want to work. CPEC is based on hard work to which we are not familiar, and China will not allow her hard-earned investment for CPEC to be misused. Contrary to this, AID money can be used the way we like without any repercussions. For example, look at the following two tables.
From 1948 (we are beggars by birth) till 2005, the US Government has helped us in Economy, Military, and Collation Support with 54.234 billion US$.
Economic and Military assistance got the major chunk of this Aid.
Have we improved both or anyone? Big No
We have received:
34.8 billion US $ (table 1) for our economy but where our economy is standing now?
14.734 US$ for Military assistance and used it (along with adequate military budget) largely on war against terrorism nevertheless, the menace of terrorism is still there with more might than ever before.
Source data: PricewaterhouseCooperLLP(US)
All figures are rounded off.
A: Peace and Security., B: Economic development., C: Education and social service., D: Democracy, Human eight and Governance., E: Humanitarian Assistance., F: Health., G: Miscellaneous
Table 2 again indicated that maximum US assistance is given for peace and security and for the economy, both are crumbling alarmingly for the reasons not clear to understand?
Maximum assistance for peace and security was given during 2009 and in 2011 (Green), while it was substantially and gradually reduced from 2013 onward (Blue), Peace and security and economy were the large beneficiaries (Mauve: both are in shambles)
The picture below explains the Aid situation more clearly as it self explainatory.
Source: US Overseas Loans and Grants: Obligations and Loan Authorizations (aka the Green book). For the years 2002–2011 we have added data on Coalition Support Funds spending to the military assistance category; while CSF is not technically foreign assistance, it has constituted the bulk of military assistance to Pakistan during the post-9/11 period. Source for CSF amounts is “Direct Overt U.S. Aid Appropriations and Military Reimbursements to Pakistan,” prepared for the Congressional Research Service by K. Alan Kronstadt.
Here things are pretty clear, especially the 4.7 billion US$ (table 1) received as Collation Support: a term that I have never understood before.
We have received:
$156 million as emergency relief in 2005, 2010, Kashmir earthquake of 2005 and during floods of 2022.
US government has provided life-saving assistance with $32 billion (during last 20 year) as direct support to the people of Pakistan but the US help was actually started in1960s for:
“Green Revolution” which helped Pakistan producing higher yielding varieties that boosted economic opportunities and increasing life expectancy in rural areas,
Constructing dams and hydropower plants that even today are providing reliable, efficient, and clean energy, are powering the homes of more than 50 million people (else, we would be living in dark ages to which we are living anyway), and expanding agricultural productivity in rural areas, and
Establishing people-to-people connections in education sector since 1950, maintaining the world’s largest Fulbright Program in Pakistan with 37,000-members vibrant alumni network.
The US governments helped us to:
Get access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities for more than 300,000 Pakistani across Khabre Pakhtunkhwa and Sind,
In registration of over one million women to get equal access to public services, civil and political right,
Construct more than 1800 KM or roads and bridges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan provinces,
Create 82000 new jobs directly though American training since 2011,
through business councils that employed over 130,000 Pakistani and sustaining over one million jobs and generating nearly US$ 4 billion in economic activity in Pakistan annually,
Train 293 drug treatment professionals and supported 10 treatment centers.
Getting lifesaving services for more 340,000 women and children in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border region,
Getting 200 ventilators to support COVID-19 recovery, and helped Pakistan with $ 7 million to combat COVID 19 by providing 80 million high-quality vaccine doses, $80 million to combat the pandemic while building infrastructure and resiliency for the future.
US-Pakistan “Green Alliance”
Contributed $1 billion for mitigation and adaptation projects in Pakistan,
Provides reliable information about air quality in Pakistan through her Air Quality Monitoring program and will host an Air Quality Fellow from 2023- 2024 to engage with Pakistanis about air pollution measurement and control,
Consult Pakistani partners on cotton use and improving the efficiency of $ 4.4 billion worth of textiles exports to the United States each year,
For more details pl. visit
https://pk.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/76/20230407-Fact-Sheet-Green-Alliance-English.pdfFact Sheet: The U.S.-Pakistan “Green Alliance” Framework
Is there any area left where the US Government has not helped us?
None in my live memory
Isn’t it emphatically clear now that we are used to easy money (Aid Money) because “an open door will tempt even a saint”. Look at Bangladeshi women stitching 5-10 shirts per day while women in Pakistan wait for PKR 2000 per month of Benazir Income support. We are giving our women fishes while Bangladesh is teaching them how to fish (Thanks to Grameen Bank). I wish CPEC would do this to us (no easy money folks)?
However, Pakistani people are not happy with the US AID because they view it as something given in lieu of some ulterior motives? while the public suffered the consequences of aid mediated rise in corruption?
Is it not the time that we fix our inherent fault(s) in the larger interest of our country and the future of our coming generation? Else, 15 to 20 years down the line, street beggars will be ruling Pakistan (God forbid).
What do you think dear readers?
That’s all for now. See you next week. Till then, Stay blessed,
Bye.
