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| India-Pakistan |
| Rivalry with India cause of poor Pak economy: US expert |
| 2007-08-31 |
| ISLAMABAD: A top American foreign policy expert has linked Pakistans poor economic condition to its rivalry with India and successive military regimes in the country. "The rivalry that dogged Pakistan after Partition led to misallocation of funds to the army on the pretext of keeping itself at par with India militarily and caused political and economic disturbances," said Walter Russell Mead, a senior fellow at the US-based think tank Council on Foreign Relations. Advocating against 'militarisation of economic policies,' Mead observed that Pakistans military bureaucracy needed to understand that its current approach was unsustainable. He was of the view that India had access to the very best of weapons available in the world, for which it did not have to suffer much owning to the volume of its economy, while Pakistan had to use the fund for the purpose that were direly needed for its development. "Pakistan needs to get out of this vicious circle," he said. The scholar refused to accept any American role in strengthening military regimes in Pakistan. However, he did accept that "the periods of US interaction with this country happened to coincide with military governments here." "The Americans did not have any choice. The military government in Pakistan was the only option available to them, Mead was quoted by The News as saying today. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #4 Isn't it nice when there is a division like that that helps clarify. East Germany vs West Germany PRC vs Taiwan/HongKong Malaya vs Singapore Basically the same regional issues with a single major factor that causes night and day differences. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-08-31 17:32 |
| #3 Singapore is another example. Only 16% of the population is Muslim. Singapore was part of Malaysia, which is 60% Muslim. The GDP per capita in Singapore is US$46000. The GDP per capita in Malaysia is US$12700. |
| Posted by: Rambler 2007-08-31 16:30 |
| #2 Hong Kong is also happily unfettered with Islam. If you are looking for a quick check for success as a nation, the presence or absence of Islam will give a good indication. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2007-08-31 14:30 |
| #1 This seems to assume that funds for development have to come from the government. Hong Kong seemed to do alright with proper law and order and limited government policies. This also seems to assume that the blight is caused by rivalry with India rather than this being the same blight that appears throughout the Islamic world (with India being a nice pretext for the military buildup). Show me a first world nation based on a pride/shame culture that doesn't have an artificial lift due to oil. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-08-31 10:33 |