Pak wanted account in Kuwait in PMs name: WikiLeaks
IslamabadThe present Pakistan government requested the opening of a bank account in Kuwait in the name of the prime minister for receiving donations for internally displaced people, says a US diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks. According to the cable sent in June 2009, Rashid Al-Hajri, counsellor of international affairs in Kuwaits foreign ministry, told a US official that the Pakistan embassy requested a bank account in the name of the prime minister to pool donations for displaced people.
Al-Hijri expressed concern over possible corruption and asked why an account had to be opened in the name of the prime minister rather than in the name of the government or the embassy in Kuwait. The cable also said the government had requested the opening of accounts in the name of the prime minister in other countries as well.
The US official then asked Washington whether the Pakistan government had approached the American government with the same request in order to collect donations for IDPs and sought any advice to pass back to the Kuwait government on responding to such a request.
Kuwait had till then not made any decision about direct government-to-government assistance to Pakistan for IDPs. Al-Hajri said that the MFA had brought the issue to the attention of the cabinet, but there had not yet been a decision on the matter.
The Kuwait Red Crescent (KCR), however, had made preparations to provide 20,000 tents and 10,000 packages of foodstuffs, cooking utensils, blankets and hygienic supplies. KRC President Barges Al-Barges explained that the KRC had started setting aside funds when the crisis started. He had been surprised by ICRCs relative slowness in making the appeal and had written to the ICRC to speed up the process.
The two were now coordinating aid delivery, but the ICRC wanted to be in charge. Al-Bahar explained that the Kuwait Fund had already agreed on an earthquake reconstruction project worth 14.3m Kuwaiti dinars ($50m) for Pakistan. The only thing delaying the start of the project, he said, was the security situation in Pakistan, which was preventing Kuwait Fund staff from travelling to the country to sign the loan agreement.
As a way to speed up project implementation, he added, the Kuwait Fund was approving procurement for the project in coordination with Pakistan government.INP
