A day after former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf’s confession about U.S. aid being diverted against India, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Monday asked Washington to monitor its aid to Islamabad.
“We support countries helping Pakistan fighting against terrorism, but we do not expect the aid turned against us,” Mr. Tharoor told reporters here.
The U.S. should monitor its aid to Pakistan, he said, adding that Gen. Musharraf’s disclosure did not surprise India.
Mr. Musharraf’s revelation confirms India’s stand on misuse of U.S. aid by Pakistan, he said.
He was reacting to a question on Mr. Musharraf’s admission in an interview that Pakistan had used the aid provided by the U.S. for the war against terror during his regime to strengthen defences against India.
Gen. Musharraf also admitted that he had violated rules governing the use of the military aid, and justified his actions by saying he had “acted in the best interest of Pakistan.” Gen. Musharraf said he “did not care” whether the U.S. would be angered by his disclosure as he did not want to compromise on Pakistan’s interests.
The current Pakistan government has, however, denied any misuse of U.S. aid.
India has long voiced its concerns about the misuse of huge aid that the U.S. gave to Islamabad during the so called war on terror, expected to be over $10 billion, but this is the first public admission by a top Pakistani leader.
Early this year, former foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon had memorably said that aid to Pakistan was like giving alcohol to an alcoholic.
