Pakistan: Successful stories from the IFAD funded AJK Community Development Program (AJK CDP)

This video provides an overview of the achievements of the IFAD funded Community Development Program in Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Pakistan.

Through a series of interviews to the beneficiaries, the video shows concrete examples of how rural poor, particularly women, have benefited from the Program and successfully managed to improve their quality of life.

More on the Program in a few days, in another post.

Will security in Pakistan affect IFAD’ support to the country?

Photo credit: Reuters

Recent events in Pakistan rightly rose concerns on the extent to which the current security situation in the country could affect the implementation of IFAD funded projects.

Obviously ‘security’ is a factor beyond the control of IFAD, and as such it represents one of the (exogenous) risks for working in Pakistan.

However, it should be noted that - with the exception of one project whose unexpected and exceptional increased insecurity in the project area prevented proper monitoring - IFAD has always been able to adequately supervise both physical progresses and fiduciary aspects of its funded projects in Pakistan.

This does not guarantee per se that the situation may not change in the future, but it highlights the fact that in principle the security situation in Pakistan should not significantly affect IFAD’s capacity to continue its support to this country.

Should the current macroeconomic situation in Pakistan justify IFAD to withdraw its support to Pakistan?

Photo credit: Arif Ali/AFP

The current macroeconomic situation in Pakistan, where, according to recent estimates, the total debt would constitute about 60% of the GDP, raised concerns on the likelihood of Pakistan to repay its loans, and, consequently, on whether IFAD should continue lending to this country. This was one of the issues raised by one of the Executive Board members during the recent IFAD Executive Board meeting.

Contrarily to this position, we are of the opinion that investing in poverty reduction could contribute to macroeconomic stabilization, and that investing in activities that target the poor -- such as those supported by IFAD -- would contribute to reduce the vulnerability of the most vulnerable segments of society to the effects of macroeconomic instability.

We believe that the challenges that Pakistan is facing at the moment are actually an argument to continue the support to this country, not to withdraw it.

And you, what is your opinion?

A little slice of IFAD history

When IFAD’s President learnt that Sartaj Aziz was also in New Delhi for high-level consultations he made it a point to pay a courtesy visit to one of the founding fathers of IFAD. Aziz – a well-known development thinker – is currently Vice-Chancellor of a national university in Pakistan.

It was touching and emotional for those who had known him – Mattia and myself – to see Aziz, in his mid-70s now, fit healthy and sharp as ever.

The two men bonded quickly with Sartaj Aziz sharing with the President some human details about the creation of IFAD, and the complexities and political undercurrents they had to handle to ensure that OECD countries, including the United States, and OPEC nations were all in sync.

Sarjat Aziz, a former finance minister and foreign minister of Pakistan, regaled the President with anecdotes of his encounters with Henry Kissinger, when at one point it seemed talks were near collapse because of disagreement on some issues.

“I still recall well the night of 13 June, 1977, at the plenipotentiary conference, where some of the creators had to thrash out an agreement late at night, bringing all member states to the table with a balanced foundation document for the institution…”

The President remarked that the creators of IFAD were geniuses.

He repeated something he shared in the last Town Hall meeting – that the agreement establishing IFAD covered everything, there was not one thing that could be added or without which IFAD could not proceed in its mission.

Sarjat Aziz congratulated the President on his election. “I am delighted that it is you who has taken on mantle of the organisation that has a noble mandate.

IFAD needs you now, just as it did then, the President told Sarjaz Aziz as he said goodbye.

Farhana Haque-Rahman and Mattia Prayer-Galetti