Saturday, November 7, 2009

Autumn in Pakistan

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan to allay the fears of Pakistani military and opposition parties over Kerry-Lugar-Berman legislation. The US Congress and Senate approved the $7.5 billion aid package for Pakistan. Largely related to spending on health, education and infrastructure development, Pakistan would roughly get $1.5 billion for five continuous years.

The government will be saddled with a very serious responsibility for the remaining four years of its tenure. Kerry-Lugar Bill will especially keep them busy, something they are not used to, from parliamentarians to the top. The obvious fact is that the Bill calls for extensive cooperation between Pakistan and the USA, and a greater presence of the Americans in the country than ever before, apparently guiding, advising, assisting their counterparts in Pakistan, to fulfil the objectives of the Bill.

One question she didn't have any answer to was about drone attacks, which has resulted in the deaths of more than 1000 people since 2006. There have been a total of 80 drone attacks in past three years, over half of them in the present year alone. Almost one third of the people killed are said to be civilians. Civilian casualties and the perceived infringement of sovereignty enrage most Pakistanis and these attacks enjoy only 9% support, according to a Gallup poll.