Pakistan says last payment from US for fighting Taliban delayed

[fatman17]

Pakistan says last payment from US for fighting Taliban delayed

South Asia News


Feb 19, 2009, 14:01 GMT


Islamabad - The United States has not paid Pakistan a penny for the last nine months for rendering its military services to fight Taliban and al-Qaeda in restive tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, a Pakistani official said on Thursday.

Shaukat Tarin, the financial advisor to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said Pakistan's latest reimbursement bill of 1.35 billion dollars for flushing out militants from the tribal region in the north-west of the country, was delayed.

'We have not received any amount since May 2008,' Tarin told reporters.

'Some accounting and procedural complications have delayed the release of Coalition Support Fund and we have asked them to pay the bill as soon as possible,' he added.

According to Tarin, the sides negotiated the issue for months and the Washington has approved a payment of close on 1 billion dollars, while the talks for the remainder were continuing.

'Our monthly military bill stands at 150 million dollars a month and the US have agreed to release 100 million dollars while the accounting issues for the remaining 50 million dollars will be sorted out soon,' he said.

Pakistan joined the US-led international fight against terrorism in 2001, and started to get 297 million-dollar annual military grant since 2003 to eliminate the sanctuaries of Islamist insurgents conducting cross border raids on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The grant was increased gradually and has shot up since 2006 when US pilotless aircraft started attacks on militant hideouts inside Pakistan.

'The military reimbursement bills have been increased and change in the format for reconciling the actual expenditures with the demands has created difficulties for releasing the amount for Islamabad,' said an official in the finance ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US has so far provided around 10 billion dollars of aid for social development as well as in form of military aid.

But Pakistan says it has suffered financial losses many times more than it has collectively received aid from its western allies, including US, after becoming front line state in the ongoing war against terrorism.

Tarin said Pakistan is projected to face around 8 billion dollars alone in the ongoing fiscal year, ending on June 30. 'Our investments have been dried up and imports and exports affected,' he said.

Thousands lives have also been lost in the Islamic country as it fights Islamic militancy that is spreading fast in North West Frontier Province and infiltrating into its adjoining provinces of Balochistan and Punjab.

Pakistani has asked its western allies to compensate financially by granting Islamabad market access, debt relief, oil facilities on deferred payments and development aid. 'The war against terror is ours but it is also the war of our western friends,' Tarin said.

Pakistan, which recently avoided default by obtaining a 7.6- billion-dollar loan package from the International Monetary Fund, is relying heavily on western aid to revive its economy.

is there a link with the situation in swat! - you know what they say "no mon....no ***"

 

[third eye]

Would this mean that the PA is charging the US ( or being paid by the US) to get at its own countrymen ?

 

[SurvivoR]

Pakistan says last payment from US for fighting Taliban delayed

South Asia News


Feb 19, 2009, 14:01 GMT


Islamabad - The United States has not paid Pakistan a penny for the last nine months for rendering its military services to fight Taliban and al-Qaeda in restive tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, a Pakistani official said on Thursday.

Shaukat Tarin, the financial advisor to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said Pakistan's latest reimbursement bill of 1.35 billion dollars for flushing out militants from the tribal region in the north-west of the country, was delayed.

'We have not received any amount since May 2008,' Tarin told reporters.

'Some accounting and procedural complications have delayed the release of Coalition Support Fund and we have asked them to pay the bill as soon as possible,' he added.

According to Tarin, the sides negotiated the issue for months and the Washington has approved a payment of close on 1 billion dollars, while the talks for the remainder were continuing.

'Our monthly military bill stands at 150 million dollars a month and the US have agreed to release 100 million dollars while the accounting issues for the remaining 50 million dollars will be sorted out soon,' he said.

Pakistan joined the US-led international fight against terrorism in 2001, and started to get 297 million-dollar annual military grant since 2003 to eliminate the sanctuaries of Islamist insurgents conducting cross border raids on NATO forces in Afghanistan.

The grant was increased gradually and has shot up since 2006 when US pilotless aircraft started attacks on militant hideouts inside Pakistan.

'The military reimbursement bills have been increased and change in the format for reconciling the actual expenditures with the demands has created difficulties for releasing the amount for Islamabad,' said an official in the finance ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The US has so far provided around 10 billion dollars of aid for social development as well as in form of military aid.

But Pakistan says it has suffered financial losses many times more than it has collectively received aid from its western allies, including US, after becoming front line state in the ongoing war against terrorism.

Tarin said Pakistan is projected to face around 8 billion dollars alone in the ongoing fiscal year, ending on June 30. 'Our investments have been dried up and imports and exports affected,' he said.

Thousands lives have also been lost in the Islamic country as it fights Islamic militancy that is spreading fast in North West Frontier Province and infiltrating into its adjoining provinces of Balochistan and Punjab.

Pakistani has asked its western allies to compensate financially by granting Islamabad market access, debt relief, oil facilities on deferred payments and development aid. 'The war against terror is ours but it is also the war of our western friends,' Tarin said.

Pakistan, which recently avoided default by obtaining a 7.6- billion-dollar loan package from the International Monetary Fund, is relying heavily on western aid to revive its economy.

is there a link with the situation in swat! - you know what they say "no mon....no ***"

No there is no apparent link with Swat because the military operations are going on in other areas.

Swat is avoided due to fear of high civilian casualties otherwise if Pakistan can help Sir Lanka in eliminating LTTE from their strongest bases then it can do same in Swat but fear of civilian casualties.

 

[Bull]

This is embarassing. Are PA Mercenaries. PA / GoP shouldnt be making noices like this. Fight the war for your cause and not for anybody elses.

 

[SurvivoR]

This is embarassing. Are PA Mercenaries. PA / GoP shouldnt be making noices like this. Fight the war for your cause and not for anybody elses.

When it was forced on us in 2001 it was certainly NOT our WAR. The payment is pending for use of our ammunition and fuel which as per international accord the cheating Americans should pay us.

 

[TOPGUN]

Would this mean that the PA is charging the US ( or being paid by the US) to get at its own countrymen ?

Everything cost my friend nothing is free! its given by the US for Pak for doing there dirty work and a prob that they have created just like else where in the world again Pak is not a country like US that can handle spending millions and billions on its forces to fight WOT without proper back up funding anyone else would do the same in this world everything cost $$ just like the lives our soilders that are lost everyday i sure hope all this damn madness end's soon GOD bless Pakistan

 

[Bull]

When it was forced on us in 2001 it was certainly NOT our WAR. The payment is pending for use of our ammunition and fuel which as per international accord the cheating Americans should pay us.

Did you read what was posted. Esp the one that i have put it in bold. PA is asking money for fighting militants /tribals in NWFP. Thats why i said they sound like mercenaries.

Shaukat Tarin, the financial advisor to Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, said Pakistan's latest reimbursement bill of 1.35 billion dollars for flushing out militants from the tribal region in the north-west of the country, was delayed.

 

[SurvivoR]

Did you read what was posted. Esp the one that i have put it in bold. PA is asking money for fighting militants /tribals in NWFP. Thats why i said they sound like mercenaries.

It is not Pakistan Army asking for money. The deals are now made by elected government of Zardari and Pakistan Army is under his civilian government.

Up till now Army is listening to this government and acting according to government decision.


We are talking about the payment for our ammunition and fuel used in AMERICAN WAR ON TERROR. Which once again the cheating Americans are not willing to pay.

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Did you read what was posted. Esp the one that i have put it in bold. PA is asking money for fighting militants /tribals in NWFP. Thats why i said they sound like mercenaries.

hmmm.... so if we can't afford it in the absence of external support, should we stop fighting them?

Pakistan has limited resources after all, so if we can't cover the costs of the WoT, what should be done?

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Would this mean that the PA is charging the US ( or being paid by the US) to get at its own countrymen ?

So is it 'to get at its own countrymen' or 'get at terrorists'?

You Indians have to make up your minds - this playing both sides idea isn't going to get you by for long...

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

Tarin said Pakistan is projected to face around 8 billion dollars alone in the ongoing fiscal year, ending on June 30. 'Our investments have been dried up and imports and exports affected,' he said.

This is the cost on Pakistan for this WoT, in one year alone, for those harping on the ten billion in aid over almost a decade.

 

[Neo]

Its fair to say that US is not doing enough to fight WoT.

 

[blain2]

hmmm.... so if we can't afford it in the absence of external support, should we stop fighting them?

Pakistan has limited resources after all, so if we can't cover the costs of the WoT, what should be done?

The issue is that there is a war in Afghanistan going on which is spilling over into Pakistan. Pakistan is neither in a situation nor does it want to be in a situation where it is taking valuable resources and monies away from its development work and the usual defence expenditures. The violence in FATA is as a result of the US war in Afghanistan. We are fighting a war now that is being fueled by the US actions in our neighboring country.

As far as charging, try putting a price to the countless civilians and LEA personnel who have died in this violence. What Pakistan is getting reimbursed for is a fraction of the costs incurred by the country.

 

[Energon]

hmmm.... so if we can't afford it in the absence of external support, should we stop fighting them?

Pakistan has limited resources after all, so if we can't cover the costs of the WoT, what should be done?

Given the nature and acuity of the challenge, its affordability shouldn't be an issue. When faced with existential threats, human groups tend to find innovative solutions based on whatever resources they have handy to ensure their own survival. If Pakistan can't fight this war with expensive Western hi-tech tools then they need to find a feasible alternative. I think this has to be turned into a mass social movement first and foremost; akin to the freedom movement in the late 30s and 40s. But this will only happen if the people of Pakistan come to terms with the simple fact that terrorism in all its forms poses an existential threat of the highest order to their society. Either they have to succeed in eliminating it from their midst or face destruction themselves. It is a zero sum game.

US monetary assistance or military assistance shouldn't be the primary motivator behind this conflict, it should at best be considered an additional bonus; at the end of the day the epicenter of this problem is within Pakistan itself (which is not to say that there weren't other guilty parties involved in contributing toward this situation). The US will keep cutting checks to assuage its guilt as long as they see it being used well to garner productive results. As of right now this doesn't seem to be the case, and given that congress is taking this matter so seriously indicates that there is certainly something to the intelligence reports supporting this assertion. Furthermore the US no longer has an endless cash flow to just throw around if there are not palpable results; and the gravy train itself may just come to a sudden halt. But as long as the elimination of extremism is the primary goal of Pakistan, none of this should change the eventual outcome. If the nation was once willing to eat grass just to get an atom bomb then it needs to settle for much lesser in order to get this job done.

 

[Energon]

The issue is that there is a war in Afghanistan going on which is spilling over into Pakistan. Pakistan is neither in a situation nor does it want to be in a situation where it is taking valuable resources and monies away from its development work and the usual defence expenditures.

If there is anything that we've learnt after almost 8 years is that the conflict in Afghanistan cannot be divorced from Pakistan, especially if that is where militants seek refuge and regroup. Pakistan's desire to suddenly walk away from it by declaring it as someone else's fight is a non sequitur. Pakistan is very much in this fight because it also doubles up as a big part of the problem; and hence without them there is no solution either.