Aid, Politics and the War of Narratives in the US–Pakistan Relations: A Case Study of Kerry Lugar Berman Act

Pakistan has longed for external patronage, mainly because of its ambition to achieve parity with its eastern neighbour, India. It has often got external support, for two reasons: firstly, its geopolitical location in the region has attracted attention of great powers; second is its nature of emanating security threats from the region in the form of transnational terrorism. But the question arises—how has Pakistan benefitted from these and why? One of the factors that has marred the growth and stability of Pakistan is the abysmal state of its economy. One after another simmering economic crises, on one hand, have undermined the credibility of the political leadership and, on the other, they have emboldened the military to interfere in political affairs, leading to a power tussle, in which each has been trying to dominate the country’s domestic and foreign policy at the expense of restructuring the economy and polity. In such a situation, it is foreign aid that has helped the country survive. Pakistan has knocked at the door of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) 23 times, the highest by any country.