We cannot afford this aid

It has been said that those whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. No better example of this is to be seen in the details of a £480 million support package for the Pakistani government revealed at Glasgow Central Mosque by Douglas Alexander, International Development Secretary (your report, 13 December).

The stated aim of this benevolence was "to help increase security in border regions and focus on health and education". He added. "Our aim is to continue to help ease the suffering of the 36 million poor people in Pakistan".

Simultaneously comes the news that the Department of Health has ordered the NHS to cap its spending at 800 million for the next two years. Last year it was announced that the NHS had slipped deeper into debt, its total deficit reaching 1.3 billion. Mr Alexander's obsession with improving peoples' lives and making sure they have better access to healthcare clearly does not extend to British people.

Gordon Brown last January gave 875 million to the Indian government which promptly spent billions sending a probe to the moon. Pakistan has spent billions on defence, including a well– financed nuclear arsenal.

ALASTAIR HARPER

House of Gask

Lathalmond, Fife