Pakistan Faces UK Aid Cut as Pressures Grow

London: Britain’s aid to Pakistan could reduce significantly by next year as pressure on the government grows to cut foreign aid to all countries amidst Brexit crisis, rise in poverty at home and a parliamentary inquiry into aid for Pakistan reviewing aid from 2013 to 2018, Geo News has reported.

A source in the International Development Committee (IDC) of the British Parliament said that its inquiry into the Department for International Development (DFID)’s aid programme for Pakistan will be looking at the general spending of aid in Pakistan but confirmed that pressure on the government had increased to either drop aid to several countries, including Pakistan, or cut it significantly. The source said the final decision in this regard will be made by the government once the findings of its aid programme investigation are released next year.

“The inquiry will likely be conducted November 2019 into 2020 (March / April) on current plans,” a source told GEO News. According to the GEO News report, UK’s aid to Pakistan for 2019/20 is already down to £302 million from £325 million in 2018/19.

Three weeks ago, the International Development Committee (IDC) announced an inquiry into aid for Pakistan to establish whether UK’s strategic aims for its Pakistan aid programme were clear and appropriate; UK/Pakistan’s relationship was coherent and well-coordinated with the aid programme and its aims and objectives; and to what extent was there effective joined-up strategy and delivery across the country portfolio, and what has the trajectory of programming priorities and impact been over the last 4 years. (IANS)

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