THE economies of those very countries which are promising generous aid to Pakistan are in an unprecedented tailspin. The world-wide recession which had already started becoming visible in the weeks leading to September 11 has deepened considerably since as a result of serious downturn in the airline and tourist industry.

Consumer spending in these countries has been affected seriously as consumers have stopped visiting shopping centres, both because of fear of public places and because the wide-spread lay-off forcing people to save for the rainy day. The decline in oil prices has also affected the overall world economy rather adversely.

As a consequence of all this, the world demand for commodities and manufactures is going down. And as long as the war continues, the situation is likely to remain so. The developing countries are likely to suffer the most due to these declines in demand as these countries normally lack the space to cushion such periodic setbacks.

Among the developing countries, the Muslim countries are likely to suffer more than others because of the growing hostility among the consumers in the rich countries against the Muslim world, thanks largely to the way the war is being waged against Afghanistan. And among the Muslim countries, Pakistan is being made to suffer the most because of the very reasons why it is getting promises of very generous economic assistance from the rich countries.

The aid scene for Pakistan has improved greatly since September 11 because of highly critical contribution to the war efforts. The US has promised $600 million in cash.

Japan is soon likely to resume its assistance which had averaged annually around $500 million until Tokyo imposed economic sanctions on Islamabad when Pakistan tested its nuclear devise in May 1998. Europe has also promised generous aid as well as better access to its markets for Pakistani goods. The Asian Development Bank announced increase in its assistance to Pakistan for the current year from $600 million to almost a billion dollars.

The UAE has also announced a highly concessional loan of over $260 million. The IMF and World bank are likely to approve a billion dollar medium term loan to Pakistan from their Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) by late December and by end January 2002 Pakistan hopes to obtain the third round of debt rescheduling from the Paris Club.

This time the relief is likely to turn into almost a moratorium for 50 years. But in order for all this to start coming in, it will take at least

But meanwhile, Pakistan’s economy is getting a battering of a life-time from the immediate increases in the shipping and insurance rates as Pakistan has been placed in the war zone by the shipping and insurance companies of those very countries which are seeking Pakistan’s help in their war against terrorism.

Many importers in these countries have cancelled their orders and are not placing new orders fearing disruption in supplies due to the on-going war.

And those who are importing from Pakistan are charging Pakistani exporters for testing their consignments for anthrax. And the growing strength of the Rupee against the dollar has added to these woes as the competitive edge in our export prices is in danger of getting blunted.

And to make matters even worse Pakistani goods in the recession-hit rich markets have perhaps become unwanted because of the image of the country and its people being projected round the clock by the international TV channels.

What are we getting for our troubles from the media of the countries which are seeking Pakistan’s assistance in the war? Pictures of jihadis burning the American flags and the effigies of President Bush. Write-ups about imminent coup against President General Pervez Musharraf and the fears that Pakistani nuclear assets might fall in the hands of extremists. And pictures of world leaders visiting Pakistan to express their solidarity and announce new pledges of assistance. The refugee issue is also being projected in a manner that is not helpful to Pakistan. Every refugee story tries to give a negative twist by mentioning the fact that Pakistan is refusing to open its borders for the starving and suffering refugees despite requests from UN agencies.

So, the overall image which is created in the minds of viewers in the rich countries is that Pakistan is a dangerous country and its people are totally hostile to the people of America and Europe and that their governments are paying handsomely as compensation for all the trouble President General Pervevz Musharraf is taking to help the coalition to bomb the terrorists Taliban and Osama bin Laden. If this image is allowed to become etched in the minds of the people in the rich countries, their governments would hardly be under pressure to help Pakistan keep to the minimum the economic price of its decision to actively support the war efforts. And once the war is over these governments would hardly feel obliged politically to continue helping Pakistan.

What is, therefore, needed urgently is to make a better use of the opportunity offered by the presence of so many influential media agencies and personalities in Pakistan and seek their help in projecting the real economic concerns of this country to their viewers. This needs imaginative thinking and available on these media for Pakistan with economic stories rather than political ones. Since they are all here to cover the war, it would be naive to believe that they would give more space and time for our economic stories than to war stories. But still, we could make use of whatever we could get by way of time and space on the international electronic and print media to present our economic case repeatedly round the clock.

A war council type of group could be set up with the finance minister Shaukat Aziz heading the group and the information ministry serving as liaison between this group and international media. The group comprising articulate and economically well versed representatives from each economic ministry as well as from the FPCCI, the CPNE, the relevant civil society representatives could meet on daily basis in Islamabad and conduct a well thought-out propaganda campaign especially designed for the international audience.

The objective of this campaign should be to establish a positive image of Pakistan and its hard working people and project the threats its economy faces in view of the unnecessary obstacles placed in its way by the very countries whom it is helping and also at the same time project the enormity of the economic burden of the refugees already in Pakistan and what would happen if more were allowed to come in.