Date: Thursday 2 February 2012
Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speakers: Dr Ehtisham Ahmad, Rachid Benmassoud, Dr Robert Hathaway, Shahid Kardar, Dr Maleeha Lodhi, Kashif Zafar
Chair: Professor Lord Nicholas Stern

Has civilian assistance to Pakistan over the past three decades assisted with development and improvements in living standards, or become a hindrance? Has the availability of bilateral and multilateral largesse, often driven by strategic considerations, subverted the difficult structural reforms that the assistance was designed to promote? The publication of the recent Woodrow Wilson Center report: "Aiding without abetting: making US civilian assistance to Pakistan work for both sides", that calls for a reorientation of the Kerry-Lugar assistance and addresses the operations of USAid, provides an opportunity to discuss some of the issues arising from the poor design and implementation of civilian assistance. There are also growing political concerns in Pakistan about the political "capture" of some of the assistance as well as growing dependency.

Dr Ehtisham Ahmad is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Asia Research Centre.

Rachid Benmassoud is the World Bank Director for Pakistan.

Dr Robert Hathaway is the Director of the Asia Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

Shahid Kardar is a former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi is a former High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom, and a former Ambassador to the United States.

Kashif Zafar from the British Pakistan Foundation will provide an introduction.

This event is free and open to all with no ticket required. Entry is on a first come, first served basis. For any queries email arc@lse.ac.uk or phone 020 7955 7615.

Podcast & Video

A podcast and video of this event is available to download from Civilian Assistance to Pakistan - Cure or Curse?

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.

Twitter and Facebook

You can get immediate notification on the availability of an event podcast by following LSE public lectures and events on Twitter, which will also inform you about the posting of transcripts and videos, the announcement of new events and other important event updates. Event updates and other information about what's happening at LSE can be found on the LSE's Facebook page.

Whilst we are hosting this listing, LSE Events does not take responsibility for the running and administration of this event. While we take responsible measures to ensure that accurate information is given here (for instance by checking that the room has been booked) this event is ultimately the responsibility of the organisation presenting the event.