Islam & Pakistan! Technology & Me!
Posts tagged billion
The PEACE Act 2009 (Kerry-Lugar Bill)
62 years ago
The PPP government celebrates the passing of the “Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement Act” by the USA Congress which would provide an estimated $1.5 billion per year in financial assistance to Pakistan for the next 5 years. The conditions that have been set for the provision of this assistance are, to say the least, humiliating for any patriotic Pakistani.
The conditions associated with this bill constitute most text of the text this bill contains which I took the time to read through in detail.
Let me highlight only a few of the absolutely disappointing clauses that are included as “conditions” for this aid:
to ensure access of United States investigators to individuals suspected of engaging in worldwide proliferation of nuclear materials, as necessary, and restrict such individuals from travel or any other activity that could result in further proliferation;
This is a clear indication that the PPP led government is ready to risk a National Security issue of such importance for a small amount of money. By accepting this assistance, the government intends to agree to give the United States access to nuclear scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, which is absolutely NOT acceptable to the people of Pakistan. (more…)
How we support Israel every hour, every day!
173 years ago
We, Muslims, are estimated at around 1.84 billion in number on the face of this planet. Yet, we are undoubtedly the most oppressed and persecuted of people. Not because we are helpless – but because we refuse to help ourselves. We forgot our religion and its values a long long time back – we limited religion to the mosque and to the mullah! We pray 5 times a day, yet we feel no shame in bribing petty officers.
We, the Muslims, are the largest producers of oil in the world. Yet our fuel is what drives the West and its sophisticated weaponry. The jets that have bombed Afghanistan, Iraq and are now bombing Palestine – yes – it is our fuel they use to blast their heavy jet engines. Shameless, as a word, fails to describe our leadership. We are so strong yet so weak that we can not even ‘threaten’ to suspend oil supplies to the world. We shamelessly continue to provide them with our oil so that they may fly their sophisticated fighter jets over our land, so that they may bomb our women and children, our sisters and brothers.
Time to go solo: Stop Begging, Start Building!
23 years ago
By Laila Sohail
Saturday, 29th November – 2008
The economic crisis has taken us exactly where it was expected…straight into the account books of the big bosses at the IMF We may be told that it’s a do or die situation, but there are options available. We should first get the IMF off our back, and then work on our own development programs. What Pakistan needs right now, is an out of the box solution…and some courage.
The IMF is going to bail us out with 7.6 billion dollars. The interest rate is going to be between 3.51% and 4.51%, but an official announcement is yet to be made. Apparently that’s it. We take $4bn this year, $3.6bn the next, and repay it by 2016. Or at least that’s the part we are told. According to speculations, the deal comes with an implicit price. A 30% cut in the defense budget is demanded. Other cuts may ask for reducing the number of pensionable posts in the government and semi government departments, devaluing the rupee, increasing sales tax by Rs 50billion, and imposing a 7% tax on agriculture.25% of government assets may be kept as mortgage, and the future annual budgets may now be prepared by the IMF and not the Ministry of Finance, so now it is not only at the borders where our sovereignty is compromised.
There are also concerns about the very reasons for going to the IMF. The notion being that the whole economic crisis was exaggerated so as to leave no other options open. The IMF hawks want us to go under, America wants us to go under…and now the government wants us to go under. It may be the last nail in the package to ensure that even the economy is no more independent.
It does not really matter what the intentions of the IMF are. The fact is that the Fund is not a charity institution. Regardless of its noble claims of strengthening countries, it is at the end an institution working in its own interests, and one should not be naive enough to either deny or criticize that. The loans may be meant to stir up the economy, but history has shown us the failures of this policy. One can not blame the IMF for our own ineffectiveness. Borrowing to develop, and then borrowing again to finance the previous borrowing, is a policy that can now safely be called a failure, as we have no development, but only borrowing bills to show for it. (more…)
Recent Comments