But if we believe that we will have a free hand in spending the aid — 300 million euros a year — that the EU is giving us, we are mistaken. It is time that our politicians realised that aid offered by the international community never comes without ‘strings’ attached. Donors want to ensure that the aid money that comes from the taxpayers’ contributions is spent on what it is meant for. If this is considered offensive to our national ego, then we have the right to refuse the aid. But can we afford to? The country’s dependence on the West has grown because of the way in which our economy, foreign policy and defence strategy have been formulated and managed over the years.

It is all too natural that the EU foreign ministers’ blueprint for relations with Pakistan should be based on issues that, first and foremost, affect their countries. But an honest appraisal makes it clear that ordinary Pakistanis should feel reassured because it is their interests that the blueprint also seeks to safeguard. For instance, the insistence on Pakistan staying the course in the war on terror, utilising effectively the aid that is provided and addressing economic development and reconstruction projects in the northwest is something that should not be resented — at least not by the common man who feels let down when he has to pay for debt servicing while dollars flow into the private coffers of the rulers.

Similarly, measures to counter narcotics trafficking and nuclear proliferation and promote human rights should also be welcomed. There is, however, one aspect of its ties with the EU that Islamabad would do well to focus on and demand concessions from: trade. High tariffs and stringent quotas have restricted trade flow with the European countries, which together form Pakistan’s biggest trading partner. The EU’s offer of a free trade agreement has still to materialise.