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| India-Pakistan | |
| Â Oxfam calls for writing off $55 bn Pak debt | |
| 2010-10-16 | |
[Geo TV] Oxfam, the international aid agency, has called for Pakistain's debts to be dropped because of the destruction caused by the flooding and the massive costs of relief and reconstruction.
Pakistain's foreign debt is estimated to be 55 billion dollars ($55.2 billion) and it is expected to pay nearly 3 billion dollars in repayments this year. Foreign governments have committed about half that amount to the Pakistain flood relief effort. Oxfam said only one-third of the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society Pakistain flood appeal had been funded. Advertisement: Story continues below The call for debt cancellation coincides with a meeting in Brussels today of the Friends of Democratic Pakistain, n group which includes Australia. Oxfam said France, Japan, South Korea and China - all members of the group - had received more money from Pakistain in repayments than they had given as flood relief. ''France received 62 million dollars in debt payments in the first nine months of the last financial year, more than 15 times its direct contribution to the flood response. Japan received 111 million dollars, more than five times its contribution to the response. South Korea received four times as much, and China three times as much.'' Australia has given about 75 million dollars in aid. Oxfam said it does not receive any debt repayments. Flooding in Pakistain in July and August cut a swathe of destruction across the country. At least 1600 people were killed and about 20 million displaced. The head of Oxfam's humanitarian campaigns, Consuelo Lopez-Zuriaga, said it was ''a moral and economic absurdity'' that France and Japan were receiving large debt repayments while poverty-stricken Paks were struggling to rebuild. Pakistain has estimated that reconstruction could cost as much as 45 billion dollars. | |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #5 If they weren't such class A bastids, maybe someone would have been willing to cut them some slack. Karma's a biatch, baby, and it doesn't always wait until the next lifetime, either. If youse guys would have been talking to your Hindu neighbors instead of planning attacks on their major cities, maybe they could have explained the concept to you in a way even a five year old could understand. |
| Posted by: Swamp Blondie 2010-10-16 16:43 |
| #4 Am I to gather from the comments that none is Oxfam holds none of the debt? Why... that would suggest this is nothing but empty posturing by an international aid agency. Heaven fore fend! |
| Posted by: regular joe 2010-10-16 13:39 |
| #3 Always, always willing to spend someone else's money. |
| Posted by: Whiskey Mike 2010-10-16 12:28 |
| #2 Okay. How's about we pull all government funding from Oxfam and take that off the top of Pakistan's debt? Does that work for them? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2010-10-16 11:01 |
| #1 Unless you are obama creating and spending stimulus money... $55billion is a lot of money to throw away. |
| Posted by: Water Modem 2010-10-16 01:09 |