Too premature to save

US envoy to Pakistan spoke of resuming dialogue on opening India-Afghanistan trade route using Pakistan’s land

Pakistan has a sovereign right to decide whether it will grant special concessions or privileges to any neighbouring country and if so to what extent and also when. Against this background it is extremely distressing that the US envoy to Pakistan chose to announce rather prematurely and most controversially that Islamabad had expressed its willingness to resume dialogue on opening the India-Afghanistan trade route using Pakistan’s land. Since the issue has long been a sticking point in the transit trade agreement, the claim earned a strong rebuttal and deservedly so.

There is little reason for Islamabad to announce what would be a paradigm shift or reordering of priorities in regional trade. It is also wishful thinking on the part of the United States and its emerging ally India. Hypothetically, even if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf had contemplated such a move it would not be out of place to gain leverage by extracting special favours and concessions from India, Afghanistan and the US administration, which is pushing for Afghanistan-India trade through Pakistan. Until a grand incentive is coming its way, Pakistan can rebuff trade concessions to India. There are some rock-solid reasons for not doing so. Given the monumental role played by Pakistan in Afghanistan: first as the single-largest host of Afghan refugees since 1979 and second the country’s pioneering efforts in reconstruction initiatives. Third, Pakistan has long advocated and supported an Afghan owned and devised solution to the Afghan conflict. Over the years this prescription has emerged as the only viable peace settlement that could be implemented.

It would be downright foolish to allow India overland trade access to Afghanistan. Such a move would undercut Pakistan’s own profits from trade with Afghanistan and inflate India’s growing presence there. Granting overland trade access to India poses serious risks to Pakistan as well. Both hostile powers and non-state actors could find an opportunity to mount deadly terror offensives against the country. Already bruised by domestic terrorism, we cannot afford to take any chances.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2018.

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