Haroon makes case for boost in U.S. economic aid to Pakistan

NEW YORK - Pakistan has spent an astronomical amount of $150 billion in hosting over three million Afghan refugees over nearly 30 years, Ambassador Abdullah Hussain Haroon has said, and urged he incoming Barack Obama administration to boost economic assistance to Pakistan and Afghanistan.
In a speech to the participants of a course at the United States Army War College, he said the two neighbouring countries vitally need financial stability as they face the challenge of resurgent Taliban militants.
Haroon, who is the ambassador to the United Nations, spoke about the devastating impact on Pakistan's economy in looking after Afghan refugees, saying the country had suffered the most from the direct consequences of the decades of conflict and instability in Afghanistan.
The ambassador said that the expenditure borne on Afghan refugees over the years constituted a year of Pakistan's gross Domestic Product (GDP). Pakistan had endured political, security, social, economic and environmental consequences of the protracted war in Afghanistan and the presence of vast numbers of refugees in the country.
"Today we have nearly gone broke -- thanks to the IMF for having bailed us out."