America Must Stay Involved in Pakistan
By Dr. Ghulam M. Haniff
The American position did not weaken.
Hillary remained unshaken.
In the end the American Secretary of State prevailed with the view that the United States must stay engaged in the affairs of Islamabad and help it to emerge into the 21st century
While in the Islamic Republic Hillary Clinton gave a punch for punch counterpoints, defending American policy goals, in responding to sharp questions posed by some of the best in the Pakistani media. The ruling elite in their private sessions apparently pursued a similar strategy to shake the US representative but she remained steadfast in her counterpunch.
The American position did not weaken. Hillary remained unshaken.
In the end the American Secretary of State prevailed with the view that the United States must stay engaged in the affairs of Islamabad and help it to emerge into the 21st century.
The political leaders kept on emphasizing that the foreign aid offered to Pakistan ought not to be micromanaged and that the country is a "sovereign" nation. What they clearly had in mind was that the funds ought to be given to Pakistan to be disbursed as the politicians see fit.
Apparently, they did not want any transparency or accountability so the money given would mostly wind up in their pockets, and perhaps be deposited in overseas bank accounts.
Of course, this has happened before which Washington knows firsthand through its bitter experience. Much of the information on this issue was collected from the Pakistani politicians and others mostly expatriate immigrants now settled securely in this country. Even the top leaders of various Pakistani regimes provided data on the extent of cash sent abroad to be hidden in the safety of foreign bank accounts.
This time around, with Richard Holbrooke poking around, the American administration wanted to make sure that the foreign aid funds allocated would reach their intended targets. The sharp questions directed at Hillary were designed to weaken the American resolve in this regard.
For several years the United States has been pleading with Pakistan to set its house in order. The response was slow in coming almost at a snail's pace. This time around the United States made a commitment to build the nation's economy as reflected in the Kerry-Lugar Bill and painfully explained by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) during his visits to Pakistan.
Pakistan is a vast kleptocracy where those in power demand payment for carrying out their regular responsibilities for a client. This has become a way of life where the abuse of entrusted power is routinely used for private gain. The country continues to be among the ranks with higher levels of corruption. The Global Corruption Report for 2008 shows Pakistan to be at number 136 out of l80 placing it as one of the more corrupt nations in the world.
India on the other hand has improved its position at number 91 on the list, and with its economy becoming more productive the practice of corruption is gradually disappearing. In Pakistan however demanding money, cheating and dishonesty in dealing with others, is deeply rooted from the petty bureaucrats at the local level to those at the highest levels of the government.
One of the noteworthy items in the Kerry-Lugar Bill aid package is the amount earmarked for education, essentially of the rural poor, the weakest link in Pakistani system of national existence. The rural poor had been deliberately neglected for decades by the feudal politicians for easy exploitation.
Experts are in general agreement that the economic system of the nation has to be overhauled, made more rational, productive and efficient. The country has to be brought into the present century by the cultivation of marketable skills.
The progressive elites favor the construction of institutions for increasing educational opportunities for its citizens. Schools ought be built and learning improved in a crash campaign to establish a comprehensive infrastructure.
An educational system, stable and professionally managed, is absolutely essential for the country as the main avenue for growth and social mobility.
Nothing could be more stabilizing for a country than jobs. Everyone wants a regular paycheck. More of the same, as in the past decades, will not do. One of the reasons for civil turmoil in the country is precisely due to the lack of jobs.
However, Pakistani rulers, much like their colonial masters, are not much interested in the welfare of its citizens. They are only interested in exercising the power they have acquired together with a sense of entitlement to rule and to continue ruling indefinitely.
Many of these attitudes are reflected in the behavior of leaders such as Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz Sharif and even Pervez Musharraf, the main contenders for power on the national stage, to say nothing of others in less visible positions.
The citizens' plea for greater economic opportunities is simply not getting through to the leaders. That is why America has to be involved in the expenditure of every dollar to see to it that these are directed at the right targets and, politicians' pockets are not one of them.
