Can we pursue independent foreign policy?

This is apropos an editorial "Independent foreign policy dependent upon economic stability" carried by the newspaper yesterday. It is quite true that an independent foreign policy of an independent country is always dependent upon economic stability of that country. It is also true that Business Recorder has always advanced the argument that "there can be no independent foreign policy in the absence of economic stability as economic infirmities constitute a serious affront to the sovereignty of an independent country".

In my view, the failure of the incumbent government to bring about economic stability in the country amounts to an offence against the dignity of a sovereign state. The government is, therefore, hamstrung by the absence of economic stability to make best possible choices to effectively safeguard national interests and formulate self-interest strategies. It was in June last year that army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa made his views about economic challenges public and pointed out at a seminar that 'there cannot be any sovereignty in the absence of economic sovereignty'.