Britain to keep Pakistan aid tap flowing

from Earthtimes

Britain is to continue giving aid to Pakistan in spite of President Pervez Musharraf's recent declaration of emergency, a senior minister said as calls grew Tuesday for a concerted European response to the political developments in the South Asian nation.

'We have communicated our view very clearly and strongly to the government in Pakistan, but I do think now is the time for clarity [from Musharraf about his plans] to help Pakistanis - never mind the rest of us - to be clear about the situation,' Foreign Secretary David Miliband told journalists.

'I think now is not the time for threats to aid that is important for the Pakistani people.

'I obviously think it is important that we made the commitments we have - to doubling of aid to Pakistan, which is a very important country and has big development needs and has actually been making significant progress on its development goal.

'But I think that the next few weeks are going to be critical in determining the international community's engagement with Pakistan across a whole range of issues,' he added.

The British aid is set to increase from the current 235 million pounds for three years to about 480 million pounds for the period 2008-2011.

In volume, it is far lower than the estimated $11 billion that the US has provided the Pervez Musharraf regime with since 2001.

However, the British aid is thought to be tied to anti-poverty projects, unlike the US assistance, which is open to pilferage, according Wajid Shamsul Hasan, a senior aide to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

Hasan told IANS Monday that he wanted to see British aid continue but the American financial assistance stopped immediately.

There appeared to be the start of moves towards a coordinated approach in the international response to Pakistan Monday, with Miliband saying he had been in touch with his counterparts from France, Germany and Portugal, and spoken to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on her way from the Middle East back to Washington, and also to Javier Solana, the European Union's high representative on foreign policy.

'There is a unanimous view from the international community that democracy, and human rights, and political freedoms and constitutional rule are the allies of security and stability in Pakistan. And there is a unanimous view that President Musharraf has very important responsibilities to fulfil his commitments at this vital time for Pakistan,' the British minister said.

However, there were calls for strong European action against Musharraf Tuesday, with British Conservative member of the European Parliament Charles Tannock saying, 'We have cultivated a man who is supposed to be a staunch ally in the war on terror, but whose commitment to rooting out home-grown Islamist terrorism is lukewarm at best.