Turkey helps efforts to boost support for Pakistan

“I am hopeful that the İstanbul meetings will help carry the Friends of Democratic Pakistan [FoDP] process forward in a robust, concerted and concrete manner so that tangible results can be achieved to benefit of the people of Pakistan,” said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu during his opening speech yesterday at the ministerial meeting of the FoDP.

At the conference there are delegates from 20 countries as well as the UN, the European Commission, the EU and other international institutions such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the Islamic Development Bank. Among those attending were the foreign ministers of Iran, Canada, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates and Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Holbrooke, who recently visited the two countries, pledged US assistance to Pakistan to help tackle an energy crisis leaving millions of Pakistanis without power each day. He said resolving the energy shortfall and improving Pakistan's economy was vital to ensure long-term stability. Pakistan has been trying to pull support also for its “Malakand Pilot Project,” a five-year plan to provide not only rehabilitation and reconstruction in Malakand but also to address the root causes of violence in Pakistan.

“Not long ago, terrorists and extremists sought to take Swat -- one of Pakistan's most attractive tourist destinations, a place of breathtaking natural beauty and the abode of a hospitable and tolerant people -- hostage," said Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, co-chair of the ministerial meeting. An army offensive dislodged Taliban fighters in Malakand and the adjacent Swat region after the Taliban advanced to within 60 miles ( 100 kilometers ) of the capital, Islamabad.

The FoDP group was launched a year ago under the auspices of the United Nations and held a ministerial-level meeting in Tokyo on the sidelines of a donor conference in April. The group has promised to help build dams, power stations, schools and clinics. Pakistan secured $5.7 billion in aid in April in response to a humanitarian crisis created by fighting between government forces and Taliban fighters, but only a small portion of funds has arrived.

As an incentive for investors, Pakistani officials noted that there are more than 100 British, more than 120 Chinese and about 40 US companies working in Pakistan and making huge profits.

Turkish officials said the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TİKA) is present in Pakistan together with an active Turkish Red Crescent branch and several non-governmental organizations training teachers and building hospitals. Foreign ministry sources said Turkey promised $100 million to Pakistan at the Tokyo meeting and gave $10 million of it in cash.

Business meetings were under way parallel to senior officials' meeting on Aug. 24, with prominent businessmen from Pakistan, Turkey and other countries representing different sectors. Both Davutoğlu and Qureshi emphasized the importance of public-private partnerships to help Pakistan's democratic development.

Qureshi told Reuters that Pakistan has so far received $300 million for around 2.3 million internally dislocated people, adding that more than 90 percent had returned home. Qureshi also said the successful army offensive against the Taliban in Swat as well as the death of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud had created confidence in the Pakistani people. Mehsud led the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan movement.

“Since the news of his death, there has been disarray in their ranks, and there has been confusion. We are getting reports of serious infighting, which shows they do not have in their ranks a personality tall enough to replace Mehsud," said Qureshi quoted by Reuters.

During yesterday's ministerial meeting Qureshi said they look forward to the holding of the first FoDP summit, which US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari will jointly host on Sept. 24 in New York.