The World Bank has said that the money being spent by Pakistan to maintain troops on Indo-Pak border was something it could not afford and that Islamabad's economic vialibity and growth would be enhanced by normalisation of ties with New Delhi. Some 400,000 troops are currently on the frontier in a high state of readiness, which is presumably the main reason for the additional Rs 15 billion expected in defence spending in financial year 2002, The bank said in a new report on Pakistan.


This is a sum that Pakistan with its debt problems and unfulfilled social needs can ill afford. There are severe risks arising from Pakistan's strained relations with its large neighbour India. At its worst, the Kashmir crisis could end in a nuclear exchange that would wreak enormous physical and economic devastation in both India and Pakistan, it said.

The report said it was more likely that the current military stand-off would last more longer than expected. If instead the Kashmir crisis was to be resolved and Indo-Pakistani relations were to be normalized, the benefits would be enormous for both countries, but proportionately larger for Pakistan, the report, dated April 3 but released only days ago, said.
Bureau Report