KARACHI, Dec 21: Hardly a sum of 600 million dollars have been spent on relief of Afghans within Afghanistan and on Afghan refugees in Pakistan and Iran since the first week of October when the US launched the most ferocious air bombings on one of the most impoverished countries of the world.

Bulk of this relief spending, has ironically come from the perpetrator of all these untold miseries on Afghans —the US — from where more than 350 million dollars are reported to have flown in. There are reasons to believe the reports that the US distributed another sum of more than 300 million dollars during October and November in Afghanistan and Pakistan which is one of the factors that pushed up rupee value in Pakistan’s currency market.

A detailed overview of the construction and rehabilitation programme in Afghanistan was made in a three-day international conference in Islamabad in last week of November. A similar international conference is being held again early next month in Islamabad which will be followed by a bigger gathering in Tokyo.

Pakistan’s role in the Afghanistan’s reconstruction and rehabilitation was asserted by Richard Haas, the US director Planning and coordination in a press conference on December 8 in Washington.

A full scale construction and rehabilitation programme will be launched after the interim government that takes over responsibilities in Kabul on Saturday gets well settled, a relief and humanitarian operation is going on in which Pakistan is playing a significant role.

The US relief funding include a sum of 46 million dollars spent on food parcels that were dropped in Afghanistan when bombing was in full fury went waste. Pakistani businessmen involved in US funded relief operations accuse World Food Programme (WFP) for squandering away American tax payers’ money.”The time of food parcel air dropping on Afghanistan was wrong,” a trader said. “It was done when bombing was going on, causing a massive dislocation of the population’. Then the hostility of Afghan people towards US was at its height and local mullahs had declared dried meat and other edibles in food items as ‘haram”.

“It would have bought 250,000 tons of food grains (wheat or rice) had this amount—46 million dollars— been put to judicious use,” the businessman remarked.

Various US agencies spent directly 174 million dollars on humanitarian purposes while 178 million dollars were utilized by various NGOs for procurement of relief goods.

Most of the US-funded NGOs operate through Pakistan, while many of the EU funded organizations are operating from Iran. Local businessmen involved in supplying relief items under this US-funded relief programme estimate local procurement going beyond 125 million dollars.

By the end of December the businessmen estimate Pakistan’s export earnings on account of local procurement of relief items may touch 150 million dollars and could exceed all expectations by next June.

Amjad Rashid, a global food operator and Chairman of the International Multi Group of companies has supplied relief goods worth 6 million dollars in last 11 weeks and was processing fresh supply orders on Thursday when he talked to this correspondent in his office.

His group of companies has food processing and packaging units in various parts of Pakistan and in Tehran and Dubai. He is now negotiating to set up a ghee plant in Kabul where he expects the ghee consumption is bound to increase manifold from existing one lakh ton a year once the peace returns to that war ravaged country.

His supply of relief goods include tents, blankets, ghee, warm clothing, household items and a host of other items. He now plans to make some investment in Kabul and wants to set up a ghee plant. For this he needs risk cover and concessional financing from the local banking system.

“Whatever one says on the relationship between Kabul and Islamabad, geography and history bind the two countries in eternal bonds,” he said while pointing out that Afghanistan’s longest stretched boundary—2,500 kilometres long—is with Pakistan which has more than 100 entry-exit points. The people living on two sides of the border are Pushtuns, of same clans and even same families.

Businessmen say that Karachi is the city with biggest Pushtun concentration. There are at least half a dozen shopping centres in Karachi owned, run and managed by the Afghan traders. Countless small Afghan shops are scattered in many parts of the city. They are now well integrated in city’s economic structure and are expected to serve as linking business bonds in future relationship with Kabul no matter what set-up is there.

There is a strong perception in Karachi that many Afghan leaders are possessing in cash the 300 million dollars distributed by the US during October and November. Now that hawala and hundi in Dubai and Middle East have become inoperative because of the US pressures, the businessmen believe that bulk of this amount should come to Pakistani banking system.

“An arrangement could be worked out with the US understanding on fruitful and judicious investment of this amount,” a business leader proposed.

Local business say that India had already taken a major initiative to establish its presence in Kabul. A senior diplomat Dixit was assigned to rush to Kabul and make arrangements for setting up Indian mission. A team of doctors and para-medical staff has made the closed Indira Gandhi hospital operational. This hospital is working day and night and has engaged many Afghans.

India is also supplying a large variety of relief items to Afghanistan. A consignment of Indian blankets is now held up in Pakistan and is being returned back to Amritsar. India is now using Iran and Central Asian countries to reach Kabul.

Indians are also exploring to provide laundering, catering and other similar services in Kabul where a contingent of 5,000 strong international forces is reaching on Saturday. A large number of foreign diplomats and experts in various fields are also swarming Kabul.

It is doubtful if Export Promotion Bureau or other organizations ever considered of exploring areas like laundering, catering and other low cost activities which can absorb Pakistani manpower.

A local businessman has offered catering services at the rate of 2.50 dollar per soldier for the 5000 strong contingent. The US companies are getting 10 dollars for this service and the businessmen is confident of meeting the quality criterion and delivery of food to the international forces.