Syed Saleem Shahzad: Pakistan ponders the price for peace

This indicates that the only way for Pakistan to maintain any semblance of calm is through peace deals. One example is southwestern Balochistan province, which is home to more Taliban than there are in North-West Frontier Province, yet there is no Taliban-led insurgency because of peace deals. Pakistan realizes this, but apart from any political pressure from the US, it also receives extensive monetary aid from Washington. The time has come, though, that mere money might not be enough. As Senator Mashahid commented, "What monetary aid? [Pakistan] gets US$1.5 billion per year for a five-year period. Just compare this with the $200 billion in aid the US has spent on Afghanistan and the $700 billion it has spent on Iraq. We should consider at what price we are prepared to sacrifice our national interests."