Loud Thinking

My reply to the US ambassador’s letter published in the daily “Dawn” today…

Dear Mr. Ambassador, kindly also inform how much the U.S. government has released to the GOP+NGO’s (separately) under the KLB $7.5 billion assistance programme announced in 2008.
This information is very vital to dispel any wrong image of the USA that it never honours its commitments to the full and backs out on some pretexts or other, like it refused to handover FULLY paid F-16’s; and later on demanded STORAGE charges for the planes, which were never to be handed over to Pakistan.
Therefore, your clarification and specific information on KLB payments to Pakistan will go a long way in building the image, reputation and credibility of your esteemed government.

Letter of the US ambassador

US ambassador’s version
From the Newspaper Published about 3 hours ago

YOUR editorial ‘Confusion after IMF review’ (Feb 8) stated that the government of Pakistan was disappointed when the US failed to commit an expected $250m for the rehabilitation of temporarily displaced persons(TDPs). That statement is incorrect and mischaracterises the US commitment to helping TDPs.

The US is the largest donor of official development assistance to the Federally-Administrated Tribal Areas. Since October 2009, the US government has provided over $739m to Fata in humanitarian and development assistance. On Jan 14, Dawn covered US Secretary of State John Kerry’s remarks made during his visit to Pakistan last month where he underscored the US commitment of $250m to help those displaced by Operation Zarb-i-Azb. That commitment will continue US support to Pakistan with a three-phase package of civilian assistance to respond to the protracted humanitarian crisis and help facilitate the return and recovery of TDPs to Fata via rehabilitation and the long-term development of communities.

Beside this bilateral assistance, the US government through US AID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and its Food for Peace Programme (FPP) has provided lifesaving humanitarian aid through UN agencies and NGOs. Since June 2014, OFDA and FPP have provided approximately $180m in humanitarian aid to TDPs in Fata.

In coordination with other donors and the government of Pakistan, the US will continue to support programmes that create economic opportunities, provide access to social services, rebuild lives affected by the actions of extremists, and promote the rule of law.

Ambassador Richard G. Olson

US Embassy

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2015