According to a study released on Wednesday, the United States should delay the majority of its multibillion-dollar aid for Pakistan until economic reforms have been settled. The aid has actually led to the inaction of government officials and the resentment of the public.

A task force gathered by the Center for Global Development concluded in their study that the assistance provided by the US to Pakistan has been jaded due to the lack of solid and clear leadership and goals. The study comes as a lot of US lawmakers started to question the aid provided to Pakistan after the US forces captured and killed Osama bin Laden, leader of a terror group responsible for the 9/11 attack, near Pakistan’s military academy.

Since the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan has already received a total of $18 billion of aid from the US. The decision to help Pakistan came with the hope to fight anti-Americanism in the country.

The recent study regarding the relations between the United States and Pakistan concluded that the aid only increased the soured perceptions of the Pakistani public of the United States. With Pakistani leaders getting a steady flow of money from the US government, they have become complacent on making key reforms.

For those reasons, the study authors suggest that the $7.5 billion aid package intended for Pakistan should not yet be disbursed; especially in areas where an alarming flaw in the public administration is observed.

The authors of the study understand how sensitive the subject is. They, however, insist that without solid and long-term reforms, the grants will prove useless.

About 74% of Americans find shopping online as the easiest way to complete their Christmas gifts, while 87% think brick-and-mortar stores do a better job in setting them up in a holiday spirit, according to the StrategyOne’s Annual Holiday Shopping Index.

There are less than three weeks left in the holiday shopping season and survey shows Americans are still divided on whether best deals can be found online or in stores. 52% of Americans state that they can find the best deals online, while 48% believes they could get the best deals in retail stores.

StrategyOne is a Daniel J. Fdelman strategic research and polling firm. Based on its recent public opinion poll gathered from 1,052 Americans, they also found out that 54% of Americans think shopping online is the most effective way to spend without exceeding their holiday gift budget.

Bradley Honen, the senior vice-president of StrategyOne observed that online retailing has increasingly become a critical part of the holiday shopping season, which can be seen in the rising fame of ‘Cyber Monday and the remarkable Thanksgiving Dayonline spending.

However, it is still evident how some aspects of retail experience can not be matched when shopping online, such as feeling the holiday spirit.

In general, 59% of the consumers said that they would still prefer completing their holiday shopping in stores. Yet, that preference differs among various income groups.

The StrategyOne Holiday Shopping Index aims to better determine the extent of consumer attitudes and perceptions regarding this year’s holiday shopping habits, as well as how the consumers’ particular shopping plans will evolve over the course of the season.