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By Declan Walsh
ISLAMABAD: America's huge military aid to Pakistan has come under sharp scrutiny with allegations that as much as 70% of $5.4bn in assistance has been misspent.
The US has reimbursed the Pakistani military for the cost of operations against Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters in the tribal belt, where 110,000 soldiers are stationed, since 2002. The payments for food, fuel, ammunition and maintenance, averaging $80m a month, have been a cornerstone of US support for President Pervez Musharraf. But US officials have concluded that Pakistan's expense claims have been vastly inflated, according to two western military sources, who did not want be named.
“My back of envelope guesstimate is that 30% of the money they requested to be reimbursed was legitimate costs they expended,â€"Œ said one official, adding that the US did not know what happened to the remaining 70%- about $3.8bn - but suspected that part of the money had been spent on F-16 fighter jets or new housing for army generals.
Apart from military-related expenses, the official said, at least half the money was thought to have disappeared. “Who knows, the roads on Constitution Avenue (in Islamabad) may have been paved with part of this money,â€"Œ he said.
The Pakistani military denied the claims. “As far as the military is concerned, I can assure you we have full account of these things,â€"Œ said a spokesman, Major General Athar Abbas. He admitted there had been US complaints but denied serious irregularities. “Yes there are minor issues they keep raising, but at no stage have we received any formal complaint from any official channel,â€"Œ he said.
The controversy highlights not only strains in the relationship between Washington and Islamabad but also the limits of President George Bush's “war on terrorâ€"Œ.
The US government is impatient for “value for moneyâ€"Œ, citing the billions poured into Pakistan since 2001 - a time when militancy has surged and Al Qaeda has regrouped in the tribal areas.
The Pakistani military retorts that it has lost more than 1,000 soldiers - twice as many as America has lost in Afghanistan - in the face of deep public hostility in Pakistan. Public anger with Musharraf's failure to stem the militant surge contributed to the rout of his political party in last week's election.
Yesterday a suicide bomber killed Pakistan's surgeon general, Lieutenant General Mushtaq Baig, at traffic lights in Rawalpindi. He is the highest-ranking victim of a suicide attack during the current violence.
The extent of US payments to Pakistan was secret until 18 months ago, when Pakistan invoked the displeasure of Washington by signing a peace deal with militants in North Waziristan.
The accounting procedures for the multi-billion-dollar aid are lax. Every month the Pakistani military submits a sheaf of spreadsheets with expense claims to the US embassy, officials said. No receipts are provided. The funds are later lodged with the ministry of finance.
The US has shared its corruption concerns with other Western missions in Pakistan. Non-military payments bring US aid to Pakistan to more than $10bn since 2002. Poorly accounted claims caused the US to suspend payments for several months last spring, said a second western official, who wished to remain unnamed.
US politicians have tried to use the funding to gain leverage with Musharraf. On the eve of last week's elections, Joe Biden, the chairman of the US Senate foreign relations committee, warned that the funds could be slashed if there was vote rigging. But analysts say the US is unlikely to cut the funds completely given the importance of Pakistan in the hunt for Osama bin Laden and other Al Qaeda fugitives. â€" Guardian News & Media
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