ISLAMABAD: Islamabad is considering a proposal by Washington to get Muslim countries to share the financial burden of the US and Nato forces stationed in Afghanistan, a foreign ministry source said on Thursday.
The US plan proposes that all Muslim countries, including Pakistan, should contribute a sizeable amount every year to the “Afghanistan Security Fund” to help sustain the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), including policing facilities, till 2014 and possibly beyond.
The US and Nato have expressed their desire for the international community to participate in efforts to uproot terrorism from Afghanistan by donating finances, the official said on condition of anonymity, while explaining the aims and objectives of the proposal.
Pakistan, according to the official, is willing to join the international effort for the peace and stability in Afghanistan, but warns the country will have to consider the proposal with “extra care”. “We are already facing the wrath of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and other militants for supporting the US in the global fight against terrorism,” the official said.
At the 2012 Summit in Chicago in May, Nato leaders, together with the Afghans, will decide what additional support needs to be given to the ANSF to help them carry out their fundamental tasks. The leaders will also discuss the status of the Afghan forces, plans for training them and other related issues during the conference.
European states appear increasingly unwilling to foot the bill for Nato ground forces stationed in Afghanistan, a role that some of them carried for roughly a decade. Nato Secretary General Andres Fogh Rasmussen, in his annual report for 2011, admitted that alliance member countries are reducing their financial share for the budget.
He said in his report – which is the first of its kind – that effects of the current economic crisis on the defence spending have been considerable. In 2011, the annual defense expenditures of 18 out of the 28 allies were lower than they had been in 2008, the report revealed.
“Further reductions have been announced or can be anticipated and, this too, at a time when the defence spending and military capabilities of a number of countries outside the Nato area are increasing.’’
Meanwhile, Australia’s National Times recently reported: “The US has said at least $4.1 billion a year will be needed to support the Afghan military and police alone, but after years of considerable spending on Afghanistan, some European countries are keen to scale back their support.”
Despite the financial crisis, the Nato secretary general has announced that the Chicago Summit is determined to show its commitment to a long-term partnership with Afghanistan, together with the whole international community, beyond 2014. “Afghanistan constitutes the alliance’s most significant operational commitment to date,” he asserted.
The New York Post has reported that “foreign governments now provide almost all the money to fund the Afghan forces, from paying salaries to equipment and training. The cost of roughly $7 billion a year now is expected to drop to about $4 billion in 2014.”
According to the New York Times, the Afghan government plans to drawdown Afghan security forces in two years.
(Read: Afghanistan — what will happen after the Americans leave?)
Published in The Express Tribune, April 20th, 2012.
COMMENTS (38)
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Vikram perhaps a little bit of humanity will do. This world needs humanity not hatrmred and revenge against people comprising of millions of innocent men women and children, nobody deserves to be bled to death. Shame on your brute logic, insult to humans everywhere.
This is why the world needs pure Islam, to fight oppression and tyranny, serve humanity fisabilillah
In most walk in shops they have a policy- If you Break it You Pay for it. So all those who exported Jihadis to Afghanistan and broke it should pay for it.
yes we should pay for Afghan security only if US borrow more money from china to give us a separate aid package for that purpose.otherwise let US reap what it sowed in afghanistan.
Pakistanis must not support NATO or any other proposals on Afghanistan - the "Occupiers of the Land of The Sioux Indians" did not consult us when going to war why should Pakistanis shoulder the bill. The Christian fundamentalists and the so called Americans must leave the occupied Palestine before any peace can be reached. Not the Crusaders have been defeated in both Iraq and Afghanistan the next goal of the Muslims is "Occupied Palestine". It is stupid to commit suicide using your own money - Pakistan cannot carry on with this illegal war. Wherer is Senator Rhabar or whatever he is called - Baluchistan hearing.
@BlackJack: While you are at it also search Opium production during Taliban Rule. "Occupation apologists hardly operate on the basis of verifiable data".
How about China and Russia? Apart from the Muslim countries these two can also contribute to the “Afghanistan Security Fund” and help sustain the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF). It's also in China's and Russia's interest to have a stable Afghanistan. China bemoans extremist activities on it western border and Russia complains about the influx of heroin from Afghanistan.
@Waiting: Dude. Opium cultivation was close to zero under the Taliban. It’s only after the WoT that it skyrocketed again. This should be fairly easy to determine - all you need to do is search for 3 key words on any search engine - "Opium trade Taliban" and pick any article on the web to determine how the Taliban is managing to fund the current insurgency. Actually, there is anyway no point in discussing this - Taliban apologists hardly operate on the basis of verifiable data.
@Afghan Karachiite: Your name and comments un-Veils the reality of Afghans........
i think we should stay away from it......now uncle SAM is begging....amazing
It was quite shocking to learn through an ET report of April 20 that Pakistan is considering a US proposal to join other Muslim countries and make donations to "Afghan Security Fund" meant to meet the cost of the upkeep of Afghan National Security Forces, including policing facilties, till 2014 and beyond, in order to make up for the dwindling support in men and materials by NATO members, eighteen of whom have already reduced their contribution and others are expected to follow. Present estimates of the cost inovolved is $ 4.1 billion per annum.
Now, if the wealthiest nations of the western world , who feel very proud seeing their flags flying in distant lands, consider a sum of $ 4.1 per annum to be a back-breaking burden for them, they better drop their imperial ambitions and international role, pack up, go home and save their money and men. However, they want Muslim countries to pay for their ambitions and their folly.
By raising an army and police force comprising mainly of minority northern alliance and imposing these on Pashtoon-majority country, they are creating an unnatural situation, leading perhaps to civil war as there is sure to be a backlash by Pashtoons as the western forces reduce their strength in Afghanistan. In this situation, all Muslim countries contributing to the upkeep of the foregin-aligned northern alliance people will be declared, with justification, as enemies of Pashtoons and Afghanistan, and may result in terrorist acts there, with Pakistan being the worst affected. As it is, Pakistani forces are finding it difficult to cope with the terrorist acts within the country and one can well imagine what would be the situation when it goes up a hundred-hold. And while Pakistan and other Muslim countries will be facing this self-invited terrorist onslaught, the Americans would be laughing, sitting comfortably in their huge underground bases they have already built, and from which they will be putting into effect their plans to redraw maps of Muslim countries in the region.
we ourselves are facing bankruptcy and our corrupt leaders are planning to give money to afghans. have we not already got the burden of afghan refuges.?
JuD is a rich organisation who would readily contribute to Afghanistan cause.
@A J khan: lol.....india is already spending more than $ 2 billion in rebuilding afghanistan....
Should fund Taliban instead
Muslim countries should fund to Taliban to route out the invading marouding armies of crusaders.Muslims should facilitate to bring back the Taliban to power in order to maintain the sovernity of Afghanistan
@Bakir Mukeem: NO we were not coexisting peacefully. We were funding, training and arming the Taliban to fight against the Northern Alliance
Afghanistan does not need Pakistan to fund it's security forces, they simply want Pakistan to cut off the "funding" Pakistan is already giving to it's proxies in Afghanistan. This solves half of the problem itself.
@Shyam: India should fund it. It is other wise old friend of the Northern alliance.
Sorry! Pakistan funds only non state actors as a state policy
@Nasir:
They are our strategic asset since russia war, we and afghans were co-existing peacefully till the 9/11 drama of US government messed it up for every one............
@Saad: Dude - the only part of the Afghan economy that the WoT has crippled is the opium cultivation and supply chain - I can understand that you are very unhappy about that. The stability over the last couple of years has attracted billions of dollars in investments to tap the mineral wealth of Afghanistan as well as provide employment - you can put paid to all of this by sending your Taliban friends over once again.
What? No Ummah. Shameful, coming for Pakistanis.
@Nasir:
You mean to say Soviet Union.
right!!! like Muslim world was begging you to invade Afghanistan in the first place...
American should hire Mr. Hafiz Saeed to collect donations. As he have good relations with wealthy Arabs and wide network of beggars inside Pakistan. Furthermore he can provide much needed armed men Jihadiess to control the security. Best wishes for Bankrupt America and West.
If there is real peace in Afghan thru a political settlement the the country needs 30 to 50,000 in army but NATO can't have that. Now who is going to pay for fixing the economy?
@Aamir: Sorry Aamir but you are deluded to think that only the US created this mess. Pakistan has been just as much responsible for this mess starting with Zia Ul Haq and finishing with our strategic assets that we are unable to control today
You broke; you fix it.
Best use of petro-dollars to curb Afghan neighbors.
Now US wants Muslims countries to bear the burden of cleaning the mess they (US) created.......what a shame.
This will put Pakistan on a sticky wicket - paying for the salaries of Afghan Security forces while at the same time paying for the upkeep of the Afghan Taliban too!! - This is what is called caught between a "rock and a hardplace".
Here is a chance for Pakistan to prove to the world that they favor a free and independent Afghanistan. The countries like S. Arabia, UAE and likes who have sent the Wahabi and extremists in Afghanistan should pay the expenses to defend it against those extremists.
Yes we can contribute some only if NATO & US return our 30 Billion loss over tha past 11 years
I would not spend a dime on Afghanistan they already put us in this mess now we also take tap for there rebuilding and in return we get so called TTP and more save havens for terrorists of baluchistan, HELL NO. In between very smart move by US to shove off the dirt from their hands and throws to others faces :)
So NATO and US destroy Afghanistan and cripple its economy (whatever it was) and now a poor country like Pakistan should pool in to contribute to the security fund?? Sorry.... Not happening!!!!
Smart move. Let the Ummah fund the Afghan military, and go bankrupt.
Pakistan should stay clear of such convoluted ideas.