Gautam

Firstly sincere condolonce to anyone here who might have been affected by the recent events in India & Pakistan/Afghanistan.

Now,
Here is a question for all Pakistani's @WAB.

The havoc that has been caused by this earthquake is no hidden fact. Pakistan has openly pleaded for international help as the scale of disaster has become apparent. Musharaff along with numerous other politicians (Imran Khan etc) have asked foreign countries, charities & United Nations for help.

Now let me rewind back to 26 December 2004. The day the Asian Tsunami claimed more than 250,000 lives. In its immediate aftermath, India flatly refused any foreign aid, citing reasons that it was more than capable of handling the relief efforts. In fact today India is an aid-giving state.

Now just to make things plain & clear this is not inteneded to be a taunt, this fact has merely been stated in context to what I will be writing below.

For years Pakistan has invested heavily in its armed forces neglecting investment in the education, health and other sectors.

Pakistan's defence budget which was Rs 233 billion
Link for those who keep crying for weblinks http://www.dawn.com/2005/06/14/top4.htm
This defence budget has constituted 18 per cent of the total budget in 2001-02, rose to 20 per cent in 2002-03 and 2003-04 and 21 per cent in the current year’s allocations

Link for those who beg & moan and hey this is a Pakistani
newspaperhttp://www.dawn.com/2005/03/31/top8.htm

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDP/is_2001_June_23/ai_76143487
This above quote is from 2001

I think I will stop here, because the list of such articles is infinite.

I fail to understand how can Pakistan justify such high level of investment & expenditure on defence when a natural calamity forces the very same country onto its knees. Surely this money could have been better spent had successive Pakistani regimes (Both democratic & military) had chosen to invest in sectors that would have helped Pakistan, become both self-sufficient in terms of coping with natural disasters, epidemics & other internal problems and on the other hand help move its people towards prosperity and peace.

Instead the emphasis have been on a weapons race and investment in fighter jets, submarines & nuclear weapons (Not to say that India has not pursued such weapons with the same zeal, but atleast we have not gone on a crazy spending spree neglecting our other sectors).
Another irony is that the chances these weapons and equipment will ever see action is also an almost certain no (for another war between India & Pakistan would surely lead to a nuclear holoucast).

About time Pakistan re-thought its emphasis on sponsoring Jihad (The so-called Indepenednce Movement) and investing heavily in weapons.

Now I expect many Pakistani's to come out fighting with some valid and sumb really dumb arguements but the facts will still remain the same.
They are that Pakistan can better utilise its money by diverting funds away from this arms race with India and that this mad obsession with Kashmir (funds being channeled by the ISI into Kashmir to support the insurgency will do no good to anyone). The biggest losers in this end will be the Pakistani public who will have to remain content with the the present state of society.

Lahori paa jee

Most of the roads to kashmir are blocked and only way of communication is by helicopters. And now that too seems to be suspended cause of rains. So there is nothing more our Gov can do.

and we have to keep buying weapons cause of a hostile enemy like india

Gautam

Well if u had stopped buying weapons may be you could have purchased equipment that would have helped in times of such disasters or could have invested better in disaster management plans and as for ur question I can't remember the last time India provoked Pakistan let alone attack you.

Get this insecurity out of your mind because successive pakistani regimes have invested heavily in weapons 2 feed their hollow ego and not because of a threat from India.
When will u wake up from all that propoganda u are fed in pakistan.

Sameer

Pa ji we Indians want nothing to do with war with Pakistan, we are looking for a free trade agreement, it is your side that sponsors an insurgency and sends people across from all across the land, all shapes and colours, from Pathans to Punjabis...


Even now i posted a bbc link on the other thread about how the LET suffured in the Kashmir earthquake and that they were still active even though they were made a terror network 2 years ago by your own govt....

We certainlydo not have school books like yours where Hindus are aparently stupid and Islam came and educated them and because HIndus are so evil, we had to seperate bs....
In any event I will desist from continuing this furthur

Gautam

the main problem lies in the lack of helicopters right now.

Gautam

I want to take this unfortunate event and I hope atleast something good can be salvaged from it which is that may be Pakistani ruling elite can realise that there are much important things on which Pakistan should spend their money on ( R&D, Hospitals, Education etc.) than go on a spending spree buying weapons as usual.

If one can't get this simple fact into mind, I wonder what future lies for them.

Akshay

I fail to understand why Pakistan refused Indian armies help for rescue operations? Indian armed forces from their past experiences have learned to deal better with such situations. They could've helped a lot. Even this time, they have been able to take rescue efforts to the remotest of the areas in Indian administered Kashmir.

Lahori paa jee

Pakistan-India dispute is an endless discussion and Asia Pacific section of WAB is full of it just like any south asian discussion forum. So lets not start another.

indianguy4u

I think sameer has brokered a truce here, lets abide by it.

__________________
Hala Madrid!!

Sameer

I dont think that its an endless discussion but perhaps this is not the right time.


What Pakistan needs are helicopters, what are the chances of them letting in mil-17s of the IAF into Pak kashmir to help them out, they could have a Pakistani soldier in each heli and the first person to get out of the heli to distribute aide could be Pakistani for all I care in case they are scared about the PR aspect.

Gautam

Why is it that you all seem to be taking a narrow view of this situation.
I agree with the part that right now Pakistan needs to concentrate on the relief & rebuilding effort but let us all not forget the bigger picture.

Once this crisis is over and the media starts digging up facts there will be some serious questions to answer. The Pakistani govt will sooner or later need 2 take steps 2 ensure a better disaster Management plan next time and perhaps rethinking how they allocate their funds to diff sectors would be a start.


There is much more than "JUST HELICOPTERS" that pakistan needs right now, digging equipment, trained professionals etc to name a few.

Sameer

If you look at the himalayan fault line, India too will need huge investment in such equipment, the fault line has gone active ever since the indonesian quake.

Sure we may have much more in reserves in terms of cash but are we using it for investment in such equipment if the big one hit Delhi or a big city?

Even the US was found lacking in Katrina.

indianguy4u

Let pakistanis deal with those Q.

Hari_om has posted in other thread that pakistan has around 125-150 helicopters, out of which only 34 has been put to use. These are the Q which pakistanis & aid donors countries needs to ask the military govt & gen mushy.

hari_om

Sameer

Some helis are probably slated for millitary operations such as the Cobra lacking any space for meaningful rescue work and supply ferrying capabilities.

indianguy4u

What about these then, [from the link given by hari_om]

See i dont know the config or specs of those, but if they are transport ones, they should be used.

Sameer

What the heck is the Mushak?

IN any event

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Monday that it would accept relief assistance from India for people affected by one of the worst earthquakes that has ever hit South Asia.

But Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tansim Aslam said Pakistan had ruled out allowing Indian troops into its territory to carry out joint relief work in the divided Kashmir region, the worst hit by the disaster that killed more than 20,000 people.

"The Indian Prime Minister on Monday called in our high commissioner and reiterated the offer for the affected people," Aslam said. "Then, we also indicated to them our requirements."
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...ow/1259330.cms