US 'aids Pakistani corruption'

Billions of pounds of American aid given to Pakistan for the war on terror have been used to bolster its defenses against India in its dispute over Kashmir or looted by corrupt officials, according to a study by a government adviser. Azeem Ibrahim, 33, a Glasgow-born entrepreneur who has advised the UK government on counter-terrorism, said large amounts of the £7 billion given by the American government between 2001 and 2008 had been used to buy weapons. Many millions more have been siphoned off by government officials, he claims. Ibrahim, a senior research scholar at the European Center for Advanced Defense and Strategic Studies, drew on documents recently disclosed by the US government to compile a review of American aid to Pakistan.