Pakistan at the crossroads

Even after 64 years of independence, we as a nation are searching for the roadmap towards our cherished destiny envisioned by the founding father.
Pakistan is faced with an existentialist threat from terrorism and religious extremism; national unity has been rent asunder by the rising monster of sectarianism; Karachi, the industrial hub of Pakistan is in the clutches of land, extortionist and drug mafias supported by different political parties, who are engaged in a mad turf war with each other and killing innocent people with impunity; Balochistan the biggest territorial unit of the federation is seething with insurgency and the overall law and order situation in the country is absolutely precarious, to say the least and the economy of the country is in shambles. Pakistan undoubtedly is at the cross roads.
The situation that we are faced with today is an accumulative effect of the unimaginative policies pursued in the domain of foreign relations; perpetuation of the archaic colonial system of feudalism that encouraged politics of graft and entitlement and bred corruption; irrational economic strategies that accentuated regional disparities and frequent interventions by the military adventurers who not only destroyed the institutions of the country but also made conscious efforts to scuttle the chances of democracy taking roots in the country.
The decision by Pakistan to side with the West in the cold war era by joining the alliances of SEATO and CENTO against a neighbouring Super Power (former Soviet Union), ostensibly to address its security concerns, was the most irrational policy option that has harmed Pakistan beyond reckoning and God knows till how long it will continue to haunt and traumatise us. Pakistan's security was almost compromised as a result of the U2 incident in the early sixties and then the Soviet Union played a significant part in the dismemberment of Pakistan in 1971 by signing a Defence Pact with India.
When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in 1979 Pakistan was dragged into the conflict to achieve US objectives and consequently it became a victim of the Kalashnikov, drug and Jihadi cultures besides having to bear the burden of the influx of millions of Afghan refugees that created a myriad of social and ecological problems and it still continues to suffer from its after-effects. The creation of the "Frankenstein" called the Taliban by intelligence outfits of US and Pakistan, our abject surrender of sovereignty to the US in the wake of 9/11 and joining the war on terror have created the existentialist threat for us. Our dilemma is that despite having made unprecedented sacrifices in the war on terror, we still do not enjoy the trust of the US as a dependable ally. The present melt-down in relations between the two countries is an inevitable consequence of the fact that the strategic interests of both the countries are poles apart. The US is only concerned with promoting its own interests remaining callously oblivious to the interests of its ally.
It is however heartening to note that finally there is a discernible change in the way Pakistan looks at the relations between the two countries. Instead of listening to and ungrudgingly submitting to US demands to do more, the Prime Minister has reiterated that it was time for US to do more. The COAS while addressing the Nato chiefs of defence meeting in Spain also stressed the point that while Pakistan remained committed to the war on terror, it had the sovereign right to formulate policies in accordance with its national interests and the wishes of the people. The mention of the wishes of the people is quite significant. The strategy to remain engaged with the US and avoiding a confrontational path with her, while asserting our own viewpoint is a welcome change in the overall equation of relations between the two countries.
The growing focus on relations with the regional countries is also an encouraging portent. Prime Minister Gilani during his recent visit to Iran said "there is a paradigm shift in Pakistan's foreign policy and it now wants close relations with neighbours and Iran was one of those countries with which it would like to have very close relations." The paradigm shift pointed out by the Prime Minister was long over due.
The fact that it has come at last is quite evident from the flurry of visits by the President and Prime Minister to China during the last three years, the efforts to join SCO as permanent member, the visit by the President to Dushanbe to participate in a quadrilateral summit and the visit of Prime Minister to Kazakhstan.
The outcome of these visits is that China is working on 17 energy projects in Pakistan including construction units at Chashma to help Pakistan in tiding over the energy crisis besides making commitments for huge investments in other sectors of the economy. The Dushanbe summit resulted in pledges to boost regional trade and fighting terrorism collectively. Russia evinced keen interest in investing millions of dollars in projects like the TAPI pipeline and other infrastructure projects.
Kazakhstan has shown willingness to invest in energy projects in Pakistan. Iran has agreed to provide 1000 MW of electricity to Pakistan immediately and also committed to expediting work on the Gas Pipeline Project. All these countries including Pakistan have complimentary economies and a tremendous economic potential awaits to be unleashed for the collective good of the people of these countries.
The economic linkages and connectivity between the countries of the region will not only change the economic situation of the people but would also strengthen the security environment in the region. Another advantage of forging regional co-operation and alliances is that it provides the best defence against foreign interference in the region. So in the domain of foreign relations, Pakistan has started making amends for the past mistakes which deserves unqualified appreciation.
On the internal front, a lot of work has been done through the collective efforts of the political parties represented in the parliament in regard to raking the mess created by the dictator and the SC has blocked the way of military adventurism. But we also need to change the way we are governed and find amicable solutions to the problems of Balochistan and Karachi and also put in place a long-term economic strategy that enjoys consensus and is in consonance with the ground-realities. These are intractable problems due to a number of internal and external factors and the government alone cannot handle them.