30 months on, Saudi $1.5b gift to Pakistan unspent

[Dawood Ibrahim]

we should forth with throw this money back in their face., we only accept khairat from chitti chamri. .

They even won't mind if a beggar gives money to them

 

[New Resolve]

God forbid Nooras make a mistake and build some hospitals and schools for a change.

 

[Arsalan]

Well it takes a lot of planning and skill to utilize 1.5 Billion gifted and that is what we are unable to manage...and beside these projects should some how connect to KSA that could be the condition...We can begin food exports to KSA...as part of Saudi food security programme...

Ok that was brilliant!!
The government is not capable of spending free money on national development projects? Pasay tu muft mil he gy haan abb kharch krny b wohi aain ? Or the best approach will be to simple transfer the money to some country,,,,, lets say,,,,, PANAMA?

I really do not understand what is happening with PMLN government! They used to be quite sensible/reasonable in the 90s. A lot better than what we are seeing now, specially when it comes to visions, planing, diplomacy, foreign relations/affairs etc. Really disappointed!

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

NAWAZ ki beti ke jaheez ke liye hai

 

[Peaceful Civilian]

I wish , they spend those money wisely. They should spend big portion of money in education and health sector. Or spending money in Power generation sector is not bad idea too.

 

[Azad-Kashmiri]

Silly people think they gave a ''gift''. Have you even interacted with Arabs, or worked for them? They don't give ''gifts'', they give in one hand and take it twice in another. The day we spend this money, they'll remind us of it in a ''indirect'' way. They're not stupid as people make them out to be on here, they know we got their money and we can give it back to them, so NO leverage!

I know Arabs better than most on here! Btw, before people start bashing our Saudi brothers, Libyans, Omanis, Yemenis are the best amongst the Arabs. Everyone has their self-interest and they have theirs.

Before people start jumping up and down about where is ''Ummah''. As yourself are we an Islamic country that our gorment follows Sharia. Pakistan is a nation, just like any other Muslim country that has been severed into pieces. There are Pakistani nationalists, just like from any other country.

 

[somebozo]

I wish , they spend those money wisely. They should spend big portion of money in education and health sector. Or spending money in Power generation sector is not bad idea too.

The money has to go into a beneficial trade..health and education comes once you are able to make money and afford it..public sector health and education is a black hole of money in a country where all people evade taxes.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

I gifted £1.5 million to PDF last month but so far the management at PDF has failed to utilize it. Therefore the money is still sat in my account.

 

[California]

I gifted £1.5 million to PDF last month but so far the management at PDF has failed to utilize it. Therefore the money is still sat in my account.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

Truth be told both the PDF management and myself came out winners. I am came out looking good when my "donation" got mentioned in million homes, PDF management came out looking good as it gave them opportunity to showcase their skill and shrewdness in getting this "donation". Win. Win for both without a penny being spent. Way to go .....

 

[Blue Marlin]

I gifted £1.5 million to PDF last month but so far the management at PDF has failed to utilize it. Therefore the money is still sat in my account.

i have an idea send me the 1.5 million. i will make good use of it
when you make a transaction and the details are valid the money still goes to that account. what happens to the money is upto the account holder

 

[Super Falcon]

to an have
PM Nawaz Sharif with His Majesty King Salman of KSA. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: A generous Saudi contribution of $1.5 billion to Pakistan remains unutilised after almost 30 months because of bureaucratic snags and difficulties in finding an equity partner.

The Pakistan Development Fund was set up with Saudi Arabia’s assistance in early 2014. The government has not even appointed a full-time chief executive officer (CEO) for the company set up to channel the funds, The Express Tribune has learnt from sources in the finance ministry.


Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is the chairman of the Pakistan Development Fund Limited (PDFL) while Finance Secretary Dr Waqar Masood is the interim CEO of the company.

Saudi Arabia had ‘gifted’ $1.5 billion to Pakistan in 2014 to help Islamabad in its time of economic distress. The government did not disclose the purpose of the gift and instead stashed away the money in the PDFL, announcing the firm will act as an independent development finance institution (***) and operate on commercial basis.

So far, the PDFL has existed only on paper and has not financed any projects. Instead of utilising the $1.5 billion, the government has contracted commercial loans for financing megaprojects over the past two years.

The finance minister has chaired a couple of PDFL meetings but things are still on paper only, the sources said. They added the government has every intention to utilise the funds for financing development projects but some procedural formalities have yet to be completed.

In June, Ishaq Dar had invited the Asian Development Bank to join the PDF as an equity partner, according to a finance ministry handout.

Early this month, the sources said, the ADB sent a mission to Pakistan to review the possibility of becoming an equity partner in the PDFL. They said the ADB delegation’s initial observations termed it riskier to become an equity partner, but it was willing to provide loans for the PDF on sovereign guarantees.

The ADB also offered its technical expertise in the development of a commercial business plan with strategies and timeliness to run the PDFL, said the sources. The ADB was willing to provide financing for the PDF but the form of financing has yet to be decided and the ADB discussions with the government, but the specific form of investment has yet to be determined as further due diligence is required,” said Werner Liepach, the ADB Pakistan director, while talking to The Express Tribune.


Meanwhile, the government has also engaged the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank and the Export-Import Bank of China to become equity partners in the company, the officials said. The IFC delegation would visit Pakistan this week to review the possibility of investing in the PDFL.

But the reason for the government’s decision to seek interest of the international lending agencies is not known, particularly when the amount has remained unused for the past two and a half years.

The availability of $1.5 billion funding was a key distinction between the PDFL and Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) – another body working under the finance ministry.

The stated purposes of the IPDF and the PDFL were the same, which also raises questions why the government did not put the money into IPDF.

A senior finance official hoped the company would soon start financing the projects and the remaining issues will be resolved.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16th, 2016.

We can buy 20 Su 35 with this money or much needed 3 type 052D destriers from china

 

[CriticalThinker02]

Truth be told both the PDF management and myself came out winners. I am came out looking good when my "donation" got mentioned in million homes, PDF management came out looking good as it gave them opportunity to showcase their skill and shrewdness in getting this "donation". Win. Win for both without a penny being spent. Way to go .....

Can you for once keep aside your secular mindset and speak what is really wrong with Pakistan?, keep in mind that Secular's like yourself always speak shit about the Arabs while here the Saudi government two years ago gave 1.5 billion dollars to be used in development projects inside Pakistan but this incompetent, corrupt shit hole of a democratic system can't do shit for Pakistan, while one hand we have to put with secular's like yourself screaming every f-cking time to alienate ourselves from the Arab world while on the other hand have to put up with your precious western incompetent, corrupt, broken system which neither develops Pakistan nor has a foreign policy to use our allies properly and why would Nawaz Sherif he's not a leader, he doesn't care about Pakistan, the moment his tenure-ship ends he will take all the money and food has has and run away to the west just like that bastard Zardari before him, kill them all these traitorous, corrupt MQM's, PPP's and PML/N's, these Kings who suck the blood of poor Pakistanis, f-ck democracy.

 

[Indus Pakistan]

1.5 billion dollars

Oh I am not bothered about Zardari or whatever. They (Saudi) never gave the $1.5 billion. It is all hoax. Where the hell is the money? You really believe it is sat unutilized in Pakistan ban account?

It was the biggest curse the day the oil was found in Saudia Arabia. A ignorant, camel riding nation got elevated to the point where they have made slaves of the Pakistani mentality much to the amusement of others.

And just before you open your mouth and pointing fingers at me about the "West" well Saudia Arabia along with the other oil kingdoms are the biggest American stooges you can possibly find anywhere. They sleep, drink, walk, talk, f*uck, Uncle Sam.

And by the way they are biggest benefactors of India by wide margin. India cannot surive without Saudi economic lifeline.

And they even hire Uncle Sam to protect them when another (Arab) country threatens them paying billions in return for that service. Saudi's treat Westerners like gods at the airports but Pakistani's like vermin. This is fact.

 

[CriticalThinker02]

Oh I am not bothered about Zardari or whatever. They (Saudi) never gave the $1.5 billion. It is all hoax. Where the hell is the money? You really believe it is sat unutilized in Pakistan ban account?

It was the biggest curse the day the oil was found in Saudia Arabia. A ignorant, camel riding nation got elevated to the point where they have made slaves of the Pakistani mentality much to the amusement of others.

And just before you open your mouth and pointing fingers at me about the "West" well Saudia Arabia along with the other oil kingdoms are the biggest American stooges you can possibly find anywhere. They sleep, drink, walk, talk, f*uck, Uncle Sam.

And by the way they are biggest benefactors of India by wide margin. India cannot surive without Saudi economic lifeline.

And they even hire Uncle Sam to protect them when another (Arab) country threatens them paying billions in return for that service. Saudi's treat Westerners like gods at the airports but Pakistani's like vermin. This is fact.

Where the f-ck is Pakistan's foreign policy, you said it yourself that India cannot survive without the Saudi economic lifeline so let me ask you this question, did this corrupt broken democratic system ever gave us a leader who internationally spoke for Pakistan's interest or developed the people of Pakistan instead of stealing all the money and running off to the west to build palaces there and educate their children in western schools while our children remain uneducated and our sick dies of cancer because of no health care?, did we ever ask the Arabs not to have economic relations with India?, did we ever tried to Isolate India among the Muslim world? no we did not because this corrupt and broken system never gave us a policy that could develop the people of Pakistan, I do not give a shit about who Saudi Arabia worships or how they view us, what I do care about is that you who considers himself a patriotic Pakistani put forwards his own personal views first at the expense of Pakistan's interest, if we had a strong capable civilian leadership comparable to our military institution we would have forced the Arabs to not only provide more opportunities for the 8 million Pakistanis working oversees in the middle east but to provide more funds for our institutions and cut economic relations with India, you never speak about the incompetency of democracy the greatest thorn for the development of Pakistan, not only producing corrupt politicians but traitors as well who side with India in the name of secularism and ethnic nationalism (MQM), you never speak against democracy because it violates your own personal views and biased feelings you have for the west.