The reality of isolation

Somebody somewhere in the Foreign Office or the civilian political leadership all of a sudden decided to wake up after decades of nap and instantly found the country in dire straits of international isolation. Since then, the media and Parliament have been soaring with questions and comments on the why and how of Pakistan’s international isolation. Many in Washington, DC, however, are somewhat puzzled at this sudden reaction in Islamabad, and for the right reason: it doesn’t make any sense.

Don’t let all the sudden noise fool you. If those in power decided to finally smell the coffee and realise something that has been ongoing for over a decade, and what most of the serious people in the security and foreign policy business already knew, it demonstrates either the incompetence or a political diversion for those in power from issues that may destabilise the government. There are essentially two problems with the isolation debate.

First, the fact that the conversation on ‘Isolation’ is being framed as a current phenomenon is highly misleading. Pakistan has been undergoing isolation by-design for well over a decade, and there is nothing new as of right now, different from the past that would suggest that isolation right now is more threatening. If anything I would argue that Pakistan is today less isolated globally as it was back in the 1990’s or later during the 2008-2013 period that saw the Mumbai attacks, Salala controversy and OBL incident. The US, British, Chinese, Russians and almost all the major powers have never been more interested in Pakistan that they are today — largely because of the CPEC, and of course the safety of nuclear technology. The fact that all these countries have shown the desire to hedge themselves in some capacity over the CPEC project contradicts the noise of ‘isolation’ that some quarters are peddling.

The second problem with the isolation debate is that it has an entirely external overture, blaming mostly India and Afghanistan for Pakistan’s weakening diplomatic position. The truth is that the global isolation, no matter what PM Modi says, is less at the hands of India or any other foreign country and more driven by the internal policies that are systematically damaging Pakistan.

One such policy is fighting a war without a story and a narrative to sell. Parliament has recently roared against the establishment for supporting militant groups in Kashmir and Afghanistan — core reason that they feel is isolating Pakistan globally. The issue isn’t whether Pakistan supports militant groups or terrorist organisations. With all frankness, each and every major global power has its own terrorist organisations that they support, especially the US and Russia. Pakistan’s problem really is its unwillingness to talk straight with the US causing a major frustration in Washington DC policy circles over what they see as Pakistan’s double talk. The fact that Pakistan stayed mum over the Haqqani Network issue instead of doing the straight talk with the United States and presenting a case to legitimise their policy on Haqqanis has for over a decade delegitimised Pakistan’s role in the War on Terror. Similarly, what was once considered a freedom fight globally, the struggle for Kashmir over the years got framed as a terrorist movement sponsored by Pakistan. Call it a diplomatic failure but for more than a decade absence of Pakistan’s narrative, and its story in Washington, DC allowed it to be defined by someone else’s perception.

Similarly, the domestic governance failure and institutional erosion that is unable to deliver results on foreign and trade policy has led to several missed opportunities to become part of the global society. With an overly staffed but dysfunctional government apparatus, especially the Foreign Office, Pakistan’s ability to present itself as a suitable international actor to do business with has diminished. Pakistan is unable to offer or talk anything beyond security that is further isolating the country into a tough turf. The CPEC in that sense has been somewhat a blessing that has provided a lifeline for Pakistan to prevent itself from a total global isolation.

And then there are also policies that have only brought bad media coverage to Pakistan. Policies that systematically discriminate against minorities causing most of them to flee to the West and seek asylum. The sorry state of human rights, sectarian conflict and injustices in Pakistan doesn’t present an ideal situation with the international community that has begun to see Pakistan as a problematic state, a danger to its own people.

While the global isolation of Pakistan may be real to a certain extent, unfortunately, the policymakers in Pakistan are looking in a wrong direction fishing out the wrong reasons. With a set of misplaced domestic policies,Pakistan doesn’t need foreign enemies to strike — the isolation is internally driven. 

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2016.

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