The Friends of Democratic Pakistan (FoDP) Forum has become dormant. However, Pakistan is following the pledges made by donors at Tokyo meeting in 2009 and budgeted Rs 1.119 billion inflows in current fiscal year. Secretary Finance Dr Waqar Masood told Business Recorder on Saturday that FoDP as well as Pakistan Development Forum and Aid to Pakistan Consortium had become ineffective long ago. But the pledges made at Tokyo Forum were being followed by Economic Affairs Division (EAD), he added.
The government has budgeted Rs 1.119 billion external resources through Tokyo pledges for the current fiscal year, which were made in 2009 within the FoDP Forum, a brainchild of former President Asif Ali Zardari. An amount of Rs 952 million was budgeted in 2008-09 fiscal year from Tokyo pledges. In the subsequent fiscal year, 2009-10, Rs 46.328 billion was budgeted under Tokyo pledges, which were revised downward to Rs 29.6 billion. In budget 2010-11, Rs 26.69 billion was projected which was also later revised downward to Rs 3.599 billion. Rs 3.661 billion was budgeted in 2011-12 fiscal year which was revised downward to Rs 979 million.
The government projected Rs 1.023 billion in budget 2012-13 under Tokyo pledges which was marginally increased to Rs 1.067 billion. The government has budgeted Rs 1.119 billion for the current fiscal year under Tokyo pledges.
Sources in Foreign Office revealed that donor countries have lost interest in Pakistan's development. It has met the same fate as Aid to Pakistan Consortium which was set up in 1960 or Pakistan Development Forum brought forth during previous Nawaz Sharif's government. There is no positive response from the FoDP members which was launched in New York on September 26, 2008 after the PPP government came to power. The objective of the FoDP was to help the new government strengthen democracy in the country by ensuring development and to also support efforts in the war against terrorism. The United States was behind all the fora whether it was FoDP, PDF or any other initiatives.
Twenty four members and international organisations including the founding members of the Forum, US, Britain, France, Germany, China, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Turkey, Australia and Italy plus the United Nations and the European Union, attended its meeting held in Abu Dhabi in 2009. The meeting was chaired by the then President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari.
A high level ministerial level meeting took place in Tokyo in 2009 which was presided over by former President Asif Ali Zardari. The donor countries pledged to fund different projects worth $5 billion in Pakistan in the fields of energy, water, agriculture, infrastructure and communications.
Wapda proposed over 35 water storage and power generation projects for the FoDP including Diamer Bhasha Dam but the government failed to attract enough assistance from the group.
Since 2009, no useful meeting was held except as few without any positive outcome. Sources in the government said the group has almost melted away as the donor countries have lost interest in Pakistan. Aid to Pakistan Consortium and Pakistan Development Forum did something positive for Pakistan but the FoDP failed to deliver in economic field. The government sources provided no explanation as to why the FoDP could not be utilised for uplift of Pakistan.
Sources in EAD, however, said that 1 billion dollars pledged by the US in Tokyo Conference in aid for Pakistan, are part of Kerry-Lugar Bill. The US is taking stock of 19 projects in the energy sector, which were solicited by the government of Pakistan. The $84 million assistance to the BISP was included in the commitments made by the US in Tokyo during the FoDP meeting.
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