US exploring new ways to distribute aid to Pakistan

Apparently worried that its aid to Pakistan routed through official channels may not end up benefiting people of that country, the Obama administration is currently exploring various other options to make an effective and judicious use of the tax payers' money.

Apparently worried that its aid to Pakistan routed through official channels may not end up benefiting people of that country, the Obama administration is currently exploring various other options to make an effective and judicious use of the tax payers' money.

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Sources said the Obama administration is not comfortable about routing all the aid money through the government of Pakistan as has been the case in the past, especially at a time when reports have appeared about how these funds had been diverted to boost defences against India.

Their remarks came as the US Senate unanimously voted to triple non-military aid to Pakistan to USD 1.5 billion per annum till 2014.

The Pakistan government during its deliberations with the Obama Administration in New York in the past few days has been insisting that it is the best bet for aid delivery.

Simultaneously, a strong group of Pakistan-based NGOs has been lobbying in Washington that they are the most effective and reliable means to reach the people of Pakistan and carry out developmental works in the country.

But the bitter experience which the US is having in neighbouring Afghanistan, where as many as 70 per cent of the total US aid is routed through the non-governmental sector, is not helping the decision-making process of the Obama Administration either.