Resolution of conflicts is contingent upon devoted political will
ISLAMABAD: Another Defence Day is being celebrated to remember the victory against the enemy and possibly the largest threat to the newly formed independent state that continues to exist to date. There’s no denying the resilience of the nation which has always displayed it against the external threats and the invincible defence that has kept our territorial sovereignty intact. As a matter of fact, threats to a state evolve over time and logically, so should the strategies to deal with them. As Pakistan is now more vulnerably surrounded by threats in the region, tactics haven’t evolved to the same extent. It does not require much of a thought and understanding to see how states like India, dissected out of the same subcontinent the two previously belong to, has developed over time.
Be it an armed conflict or a diplomatic tussle, old rhetorical strategies don’t necessarily serve the purpose. Building up on weaponry and armed technology is one way to prove a state’s mettle in an armed conflict but not to the economic, cyber or other realms of warfare that countries now commonly engage in. As the president has reiterated the success of the National Action Plan in his message for the day, Pakistan still needs to make through the formidable task of fixing its diplomatic relations with its close neighbours and change the globally set narrative.
Resolution of conflicts is contingent upon devoted political will, collectively invested into the matters of national interest set as the top priority of the political and military leadership and of the nation.
Emmad Mustafa
Published in The Express Tribune, September 7th, 2017.
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