Whither Aid? Future of US Assistance to Pakistan

Post 9/11, accepting the indispensability of Pakistan in solving the Afghan problem, US sanctioned massive flow of aid in Pakistan. Having committed substantial amount of aid henceforth, US feels its security objectives and efforts are frustrated by Pakistan’s duplicitous acts in the war against terror. In the wake of the Osama killing, US policy makers are debating how to devise an aid policy which could strike balance between short term objectives of counter terrorism and long term goal of stabilizing Pakistan by making aid more development oriented. This paper discusses the current debates on aid in US and Pakistan, at a time when relations between the two countries have deteriorated, and deliberates on the future course of aid.