Pakistan Army or Group of Mercenaries?

I never had any doubt that the Pakistani Army was highly unprofessional.  But this assertion from a top US diplomat in South Asia regarding the payments being made to the Pak Army and “RENTING” it for US purposes makes the Pakistani Army look more like a group of Mercenaries as opposed to a National fighting group.

The United States is paying around $ 100 million a month for the deployment of 80,000 Pakistani troops on its border with Afghanistan ostensibly for the war on terrorism, a key US official revealed on Thursday.

The money is meant to be “reimbursements” to Pakistan “for stationing troops and moving them around, and gasoline, and bullets, and training and other costs that they incur as part of the war on terror,” US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, told a Congressional panel.

“That’s a lot of money,” Boucher admitted before the panel about what amounts to a $ 1.2 billion per year reimbursement. “I don’t know if it comes to the whole amount of their expenses, but we support their expenses, yes.”

In all, US aid to Pakistan is now close to $ 2 billion a year, according to figures provided by Boucher, the top U S diplomat for South Asia.