dabong1
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Sunday, June 08, 2008
The prime minister, accompanied by five federal ministers and his party chief. Asif Ali Zardari, is in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he will be seeking, indeed begging, for assistance. Pakistan is believed to be set to seek help in the crucial oil, energy, trade and agricultural sectors worth between three and six billion dollars. Wheat is also to be requested. If it is agreed to, this Saudi aid, which optimists in the government believe could include free oil, would act as a lifeline that would give the government a fighting chance of scrambling out of the current economic mess. As such, the Saudi aid would allow the government to grant the relief to the poorest sections of society that it has promised will be a feature of the forthcoming budget.
Under the present circumstances, with the previous government over the years since 2001, when large amounts of aid poured into Pakistan, having squandered the valuable opportunity to make any kind of meaningful progress, this mission seeking Saudi support is understandable. Given the scale of the crisis, there are indeed few options but to seek the benevolence of the Saudis. After all, no 'quick fix' measures are available to tackle the crippling oil and energy crisis, which may soon necessitate a further raise in rates. The government whose members have perhaps not had time to slip into the fantasy land that eventually becomes the domain of most leaders can perhaps also see that a failure to offer relief to people may result in them one day taking to the streets, driven by desperation and hunger.
We must therefore hope that the Saudis once more demonstrate the generosity they have shown in the past. But this having been said, what is still more important that Pakistan find means to break its begging bowl and end its reliance on external aid. It must also be remembered that Saudi help will come at a price. According to a report in this paper, this will include an offer to the Kingdom of hundreds of acres of agricultural land that it can cultivate and whose produce it can take home. The giving away of assets thus continues. And of course, the present situation also leaves Pakistan open to the exertion of pressure and to intervention in its policies from other countries.
The need therefore is to initiate an immediate restructuring of the economy so that such reliance is not required in the future. The aim must be, as leading economists have warned, to ensure a better distribution of wealth. Reconfiguring defence and administration spending, devising more effective taxation polices and considering land reforms must all form a part of this strategy. Otherwise even Saudi support may prove insufficient to ward off the social upheaval that many fear lies just around the corner.
Pleas for help
The prime minister, accompanied by five federal ministers and his party chief. Asif Ali Zardari, is in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he will be seeking, indeed begging, for assistance. Pakistan is believed to be set to seek help in the crucial oil, energy, trade and agricultural sectors worth between three and six billion dollars. Wheat is also to be requested. If it is agreed to, this Saudi aid, which optimists in the government believe could include free oil, would act as a lifeline that would give the government a fighting chance of scrambling out of the current economic mess. As such, the Saudi aid would allow the government to grant the relief to the poorest sections of society that it has promised will be a feature of the forthcoming budget.
Under the present circumstances, with the previous government over the years since 2001, when large amounts of aid poured into Pakistan, having squandered the valuable opportunity to make any kind of meaningful progress, this mission seeking Saudi support is understandable. Given the scale of the crisis, there are indeed few options but to seek the benevolence of the Saudis. After all, no 'quick fix' measures are available to tackle the crippling oil and energy crisis, which may soon necessitate a further raise in rates. The government whose members have perhaps not had time to slip into the fantasy land that eventually becomes the domain of most leaders can perhaps also see that a failure to offer relief to people may result in them one day taking to the streets, driven by desperation and hunger.
We must therefore hope that the Saudis once more demonstrate the generosity they have shown in the past. But this having been said, what is still more important that Pakistan find means to break its begging bowl and end its reliance on external aid. It must also be remembered that Saudi help will come at a price. According to a report in this paper, this will include an offer to the Kingdom of hundreds of acres of agricultural land that it can cultivate and whose produce it can take home. The giving away of assets thus continues. And of course, the present situation also leaves Pakistan open to the exertion of pressure and to intervention in its policies from other countries.
The need therefore is to initiate an immediate restructuring of the economy so that such reliance is not required in the future. The aim must be, as leading economists have warned, to ensure a better distribution of wealth. Reconfiguring defence and administration spending, devising more effective taxation polices and considering land reforms must all form a part of this strategy. Otherwise even Saudi support may prove insufficient to ward off the social upheaval that many fear lies just around the corner.
Pleas for help