The ball’s in Pakistan’s court

Letter May 11, 2012
Strategists like Mr Haider give me hope that dreams will become a reality.

WASHINGTON DC: This is with reference to Ejaz Haider’s article of May 10 titled “The ball’s in Pakistan’s court”. In the past, I had criticised Mr Haider for being too close to the establishment line, and being blinded by this association from making informed comments. I had mentioned that Mr Haider should instead use his enormous talents to be constructive and inform rather than hide obvious facts with circular logic.

This article, however, shows Mr Haider at his informed best, and it was an exhilarating read. He knows his subject well, is thoroughly informed, has excellent strategic vision, and should be Pakistan’s foreign minister. I have read him over the years and this is what I expect and look forward to. Please keep up the good work.

Pakistan has excellent talent and a very generous intelligentsia that could be the beacon of the Muslim world and in due course, be an economic giant in its own right. For this to be achieved, however, it should be realised that the window of opportunity is rapidly closing. Pakistan must consciously choose to move firmly away from supporting bad non-state actors, and renew itself completely, in line with the vision articulated by Mr Jinnah at its formation.

Strategists like Mr Haider give me hope that these dreams will become a reality and Pakistan can join other economic heavyweights and become a beacon for peace in the subcontinent.

RR Iyer

Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2012.