Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Pakistan needs a modern day “Marshall Plan” to help it fight Taliban militants through economic development, President Asif Ali Zardari said, referring to the U.S. aid plan for Europe after World War II.
The northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan need a “massive program” to boost education and employment, the official Associated Press of Pakistan cited Zardari as saying yesterday in Islamabad.
About half of the country’s more than 170 million people are under the age of 25 and their frustration with the current economic situation is a breeding ground for social unrest and militancy, APP cited him as saying.
Zardari is facing pressure from the Obama administration to step up the fight against Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters that U.S. intelligence agencies say are sheltering in Pakistan’s tribal zone. The government in Islamabad says it is doing all it can to combat the guerrillas through selective military force and political and economic programs.
Authorities this week signed a peace accord that will see Islamic law declared in the Swat Valley, 250 kilometers (155 miles) northeast of Islamabad, in return for militants laying down their arms.
A pro-Taliban party that agreed to the truce held a march in the valley yesterday as it tried to persuade militants to accept the agreement. A Pakistani television journalist was shot dead after covering the march and Zardari pledged to bring the assailants to justice, APP reported.
Talks With Karzai
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who was scheduled to hold talks today with Zardari in Islamabad, postponed the visit due to bad weather, the Foreign Ministry in Kabul said. No new date has been fixed, ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmad Baheen said.
The nations are trying to improve ties strained by the Karzai administration’s accusations that Pakistani security agencies under former president and army chief Pervez Musharraf backed the Taliban insurgency. Pakistan denies the allegations.
Karzai attended Zardari’s swearing-in ceremony in September after Musharraf’s resignation.
The Pakistani president’s call for increased international aid came after his government this week said it is seeking a $4.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, taking its borrowing from the IMF to more than $12 billion since November.
Economic Growth
Inflation in South Asia’s second-biggest economy stood at 20.52 percent in January and the benchmark interest rate stands at 15 percent. Higher borrowing costs have dented growth in the $144 billion economy, which is forecast by the government to expand at the slowest pace in seven years after growing an average 6.8 percent in the past five years.
The Bush administration, which regarded Musharraf as a key ally in its “war on terror,” pledged $3 billion in economic and military aid to Pakistan for 2005-2009.
President Barack Obama is reviewing U.S. strategy for combating the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan and is pressing Pakistan to do more to root out militants.
The European Commission has allocated 200 million euros ($251 million) to boost rural development and education, largely in North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan province, for 2007 to 2010.
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