THIS is apropos of a non - partisan think - tank Congressional Research Service report that the US had sold weapons worth $66.3 billion overseas in 2011.

It was the largest selling of arms in the American history. It was the 79 per cent part of the total world arms sales and was three times of the percentage last year.

Interestingly, according to the report, the largest arms buyer was Saudi Arabia, which received weapons worth $33.7 billion.

If we scrutinise the circumstances in the bigger picture, we realise that all arms - buying countries are like a pack of cards in the hands of big powers. In this context, if we look at the map of the Middle East, we can easily observe that, on the one hand, the US is supporting Israel and, on the other hand, it is taking advantage of the threat of Israel to the Arab countries. Moreover, the US has also created Iran as another threat to the Arab world which feels threatened and, therefore, is stockpiling arms.

The developing countries should realise the situation and end their disputes in a peaceful manner. All countries should concentrate on education and health facilities, which are more important issues.

M. SULEMAN SHAHID Rawalpindi