AN EXAMINATION INTO THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN AID ON RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

This article seeks to expound on the roles and implications of foreign aid in realizing rural development in Pakistan to consider the opportunities and drawbacks that result from these aid-based processes. International donors have played a relatively important role in the economic development of Pakistani villages in terms construction of physical structures like roads and bridges, development of the agriculture sector, and commitment to social facilities such as schools and hospitals. Development programs such as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Support Program and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund exemplify that aid possesses the ability to enhance the living standards, enhance the overall capacity, and bring capacity building in marginalized sectors if the programs matches with the community requirements. However, the study discovers the following vices, such as reliance of foreign assistance, embezzlement of funds, and donor-driven conditions that may be irrelevant to the country’s needs. Such problems threaten projects of development for a longer term, hence resulting in negative effects such as inefficiency and poor governance at grassroots. Foreign aid has also played these roles for and/or against the enhancement of rural Pakistan’s development, where this paper reveals that foreign aid has both contributed positively to, but also presented difficulties to rural development in Pakistan. Their emphasis that a more context-specific type of aid, which engages local stakeholders in the design and implementation of projects, is more effective and requires no defence. Proposals are: strengthening the local actors to decrease the dependence on foreign assistance, increasing the soundness and responsibility to decrease the probability of corruption circumstances, and better coordinating the assistance projects with the demands and desires of the local actors. Otherwise, foreign aid will remain a tool and its positive impacts will keep continuing to bring positive change in the rural development Pakistan where the main focus should be to help its people and provide better life for various yearning to be productive and settle down with better and sustainable source of Living.

Keywords: Foreign Aid, Rural Development, Economic Impacts, Resources, Social Development.