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Needless controversy over Saudi gift of $1.5 bn - thenews.com.pk
ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Royal Kingdom has honoured its exceptional personal friendship with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by providing a huge and rare gift of $1.5 billion cash to Pakistan without any strings or conditions.
Some opposition lawmakers have raised needless hue and cry over the provision of this unprecedented grant by Saudi Arabia, demanding details of any conditions. The availability of this massive sum required to be lavishly praised by all and sundry in Pakistan instead of calling it into question in any way and making bizarre calls.
When questions are publicly raised about the Saudi generosity, Riyadh feels embarrassed because it doesn’t like publicity and propagation of such unique munificence shown to a Muslim country like Pakistan out of affection. The grant demonstrates special Saudi love and liking for Islamabad when it is ruled by its best friend, Nawaz Sharif.
The issue had, nevertheless, been turned into a mystery, first by the reluctance of the Finance Minister to name the donor, then by the Opposition leader’s statement and now by Sartaj Aziz, the National Security Adviser to the PM, who said there was no such gift and it was all a rumour. Mr Ishaq Dar finally confirmed the rumour by saying on Saturday that the money had come and will be used for development schemes.
The gift would be exclusively spent on the prime minister’s unusual flagship development project, Lahore-Karachi Motorway, spanning over 1,100 kilometers. The Motorway is estimated to cost Rs800 billion.
“To many it appeared a pipe dream, but they will soon realise that this is going to become a reality as groundbreaking would be performed in the next few months,” a senior National Highway Authority official told The News. “It is final that the Karachi-Hyderabad section will be built by the private sector on the BOT (build, operate, transfer) basis while China will finance the Lahore-Sukkur portion. Talks are continuing about the funding of the Sukkur-Hyderabad part.”
For decades, Saudi Arabia has not only developed and maintained singular friendship with Nawaz Sharif but has also practically exhibited it more than once by offering material assistance to Pakistan whenever he is in government. Last time, Riyadh provided the oil facility when Islamabad was deep down in the financial crisis.
There was no country except Saudi Arabia in the world that was so immensely happy and thrilled when the Nawaz Sharif government had gone nuclear in May 1998.
Old timers still remember the unparalleled delight and cheerfulness that the then Saudi Crown Prince now King Abdullah demonstrated when he visited Pakistan after the nuclear detonations.
Riyadh is always much pained whenever Islamabad is in trouble because of its own or others’ making. During the Lal Masjid Islamabad standoff, a top Saudi leader visited Pakistan and urged the occupants of the worship place to come to senses.
It was the Saudi friendship that disentangled Nawaz Sharif in December 2000 from the hard situation created by Pervez Musharraf for him. Saudi Arabia looked after Nawaz Sharif very well when he remained in exile there for seven years.
It was again because of this bond with him that Riyadh paid no heed to any plea of Musharraf and forced Nawaz Sharif’s entry back into Pakistan in November 2007 in the wake of return of Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan has mostly been engulfed by the grave financial situation mainly because successive governments have failed to make the country stand on its feet and always keep looking towards the wealthy states for assistance. While there is no aid from the United States that doesn’t carry strict conditions, which, at times, even compromise Pakistan’s interests, there have not been any strings attached to the assistance from Saudi Arabia.
The generous grants given by Saudi Arabia during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif governments doesn’t mean that Riyadh has not been helpful whenever Pakistan has been struck by natural calamities. When the killer earthquake flattened vast parts of Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in October 2005, Saudi Arabia surpassed every country of the world in providing maximum millions of dollars to build infrastructure. Fund-raising campaigns, encouraged by the Kingdom government, were then launched in Saudi Arabia in which ordinary people made huge contributions.
As the hefty Saudi money has reached Pakistan’s coffers, which will be spent on the mega infrastructure project, the government also expects similar colossal gifts from the wealthy UAE and Qatar. The prime minister also has excellent personal relations with the rulers of these two countries. In fact, Qatar had played a key role in exiting Nawaz Sharif from Pakistan in 2000. All this money will be spent on the major development projects.
The visits of top Saudi dignitaries to Pakistan are always highly productive. Several trips take place when Nawaz Sharif is in government. In the last few weeks, Saudi Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal and Deputy Defence Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan have visited Pakistan.
ISLAMABAD: The Saudi Royal Kingdom has honoured its exceptional personal friendship with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif by providing a huge and rare gift of $1.5 billion cash to Pakistan without any strings or conditions.
Some opposition lawmakers have raised needless hue and cry over the provision of this unprecedented grant by Saudi Arabia, demanding details of any conditions. The availability of this massive sum required to be lavishly praised by all and sundry in Pakistan instead of calling it into question in any way and making bizarre calls.
When questions are publicly raised about the Saudi generosity, Riyadh feels embarrassed because it doesn’t like publicity and propagation of such unique munificence shown to a Muslim country like Pakistan out of affection. The grant demonstrates special Saudi love and liking for Islamabad when it is ruled by its best friend, Nawaz Sharif.
The issue had, nevertheless, been turned into a mystery, first by the reluctance of the Finance Minister to name the donor, then by the Opposition leader’s statement and now by Sartaj Aziz, the National Security Adviser to the PM, who said there was no such gift and it was all a rumour. Mr Ishaq Dar finally confirmed the rumour by saying on Saturday that the money had come and will be used for development schemes.
The gift would be exclusively spent on the prime minister’s unusual flagship development project, Lahore-Karachi Motorway, spanning over 1,100 kilometers. The Motorway is estimated to cost Rs800 billion.
“To many it appeared a pipe dream, but they will soon realise that this is going to become a reality as groundbreaking would be performed in the next few months,” a senior National Highway Authority official told The News. “It is final that the Karachi-Hyderabad section will be built by the private sector on the BOT (build, operate, transfer) basis while China will finance the Lahore-Sukkur portion. Talks are continuing about the funding of the Sukkur-Hyderabad part.”
For decades, Saudi Arabia has not only developed and maintained singular friendship with Nawaz Sharif but has also practically exhibited it more than once by offering material assistance to Pakistan whenever he is in government. Last time, Riyadh provided the oil facility when Islamabad was deep down in the financial crisis.
There was no country except Saudi Arabia in the world that was so immensely happy and thrilled when the Nawaz Sharif government had gone nuclear in May 1998.
Old timers still remember the unparalleled delight and cheerfulness that the then Saudi Crown Prince now King Abdullah demonstrated when he visited Pakistan after the nuclear detonations.
Riyadh is always much pained whenever Islamabad is in trouble because of its own or others’ making. During the Lal Masjid Islamabad standoff, a top Saudi leader visited Pakistan and urged the occupants of the worship place to come to senses.
It was the Saudi friendship that disentangled Nawaz Sharif in December 2000 from the hard situation created by Pervez Musharraf for him. Saudi Arabia looked after Nawaz Sharif very well when he remained in exile there for seven years.
It was again because of this bond with him that Riyadh paid no heed to any plea of Musharraf and forced Nawaz Sharif’s entry back into Pakistan in November 2007 in the wake of return of Benazir Bhutto.
Pakistan has mostly been engulfed by the grave financial situation mainly because successive governments have failed to make the country stand on its feet and always keep looking towards the wealthy states for assistance. While there is no aid from the United States that doesn’t carry strict conditions, which, at times, even compromise Pakistan’s interests, there have not been any strings attached to the assistance from Saudi Arabia.
The generous grants given by Saudi Arabia during the tenure of Nawaz Sharif governments doesn’t mean that Riyadh has not been helpful whenever Pakistan has been struck by natural calamities. When the killer earthquake flattened vast parts of Azad Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in October 2005, Saudi Arabia surpassed every country of the world in providing maximum millions of dollars to build infrastructure. Fund-raising campaigns, encouraged by the Kingdom government, were then launched in Saudi Arabia in which ordinary people made huge contributions.
As the hefty Saudi money has reached Pakistan’s coffers, which will be spent on the mega infrastructure project, the government also expects similar colossal gifts from the wealthy UAE and Qatar. The prime minister also has excellent personal relations with the rulers of these two countries. In fact, Qatar had played a key role in exiting Nawaz Sharif from Pakistan in 2000. All this money will be spent on the major development projects.
The visits of top Saudi dignitaries to Pakistan are always highly productive. Several trips take place when Nawaz Sharif is in government. In the last few weeks, Saudi Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal and Deputy Defence Minister Prince Salman bin Sultan have visited Pakistan.
