Pakistan needs cooperation not confrontation

Irrespective of how laudable the motives of Imran Khan may be in launching his Azadi March and how patriotic the army leadership considers that their involvement in politics is central to the stability of the country, these assumptions need to be seriously reassessed. Equally flawed is the PML-N coalition government’s policy if they consider that in the present chaotic domestic situation and lukewarm response of international donor agency, they would be able to stabilise the economy and then hold elections after a year or two. It is most unlikely that they will be able to transform the economy that is suffering from serious structural and extraneous factors in the present situation and take the credit. The reality is that the PML-N leadership knows they will lose badly if elections were held in the near future.

So, the question arises: how does the leadership proceed to address these multiple challenges to normalise the situation? As long as the political leadership is unwilling to engage with each other and takes the short cut of relying on the army leadership to leverage them to sideline their opponents, political stability would be difficult to achieve. Unfortunately, this is exactly the pattern that Pakistan’s leaders have been following for decades and failing miserably. But we never seem to learn.

Moreover, as long as politics remains in a highly confrontational mode the economy and international standing of the country would continue to suffer. This realisation never seems to sink in the leadership. One is at a loss to understand what sort of freedom Khan is going to achieve by refusing to engage with opposition, frequently belittling state institutions in public and creating an environment wherein there are only long speeches and a distant dream of a new era.

A nation changes when its leadership focuses on the right national priorities that are education, health and infrastructure, and takes serious measures to improve the economy through rational policies and good governance. Our political class has seldom prioritised these fundamental requisites. As an example, our leaders never take interest in prioritising education and are least concerned if a significant percentage of youth is illiterate. With our decentralised system of education, the responsibility of raising the standards and maintaining them rests with the provincial governments. It is rare that the provincial governments implement programmes to improve the quality of education so necessary to produce good results.

Similarly, there is little realisation in practical terms of the impact of globalisation, or the hazards of climate change or the spread of IT revolution, to name a few. This neglect is affecting our economy and adversely impacting the wellbeing of the present and coming generations.

It is not surprising that the world is moving ahead and our gap with neighbouring countries is ever widening. With a global slowdown of economy, Pakistan’s difficulties will further mount. China’s assistance or that of our Arab friends can take us that far, but by no means is a panacea. Besides, it is humiliating for any self-respecting nation to frequently seek assistance. We also have to realise there is a price a nation pays when it repeatedly seeks assistance from international donor organisation and friendly countries. And there are limits to a country’s borrowing power that we have already exhausted. As of March 2022, Pakistan public debt is around Rs54 trillion ($248.7 billion) which is over 80% of GDP.

The Russia-Ukraine war and the US-China rivalry have further adversely impacted the global economy, with the US facing the prospects of recession and the Chinese economy slowing down.

It is very doubtful if the political leadership ever factors these issues while pursuing their confrontational politics. Their inflated egos and personalised politics, deep inbred hatred of opponents and insensitivity to the plight of the poor is fast pulling the country down. Massive street protests and refusal to have any dealings with the government has created a dangerous deadlock. Ignoring the parliament and relying on street power denies the state the benefits of useful inputs on major national and international issues. More significantly, people’s disillusionment with leader’s ability to deliver makes our nascent democracy vulnerable. These are basics that we all are aware of and yet so naïve to ignore them in practice.

In democratic countries there is generally a broad consensus on foreign policy issues to give continuity to policy and gain the confidence of major powers. This has even greater relevance for Pakistan that is passing through a serious economic crisis. But with hardly any serious communication between the government and opposition leadership and parliament and its committees practically in a limbo this has not been possible. In fact, Khan’s vision of pursuing an independent foreign policy is only feasible if a country does not have to rely so heavily on foreign assistance and is internally cohesive. When the opposition leader refuses to have any contact with the PM and is pursuing a policy of serious confrontation it has deadlocked parliament and major national issues that demand discussion and consensus have been sidelined.

Moreover, a world knitted together in several major national and international fields demands compromise and flexibility in foreign policy. We also have to look at the European Union or the South American model, UNASUR, a consensus mechanism comprised of Latin American countries. How beneficial these groupings have been in placing their economies on a fast track and raising the standard of living of their people substantially. But with severe hostility between India and Pakistan and diametrically opposite positions on Kashmir, this obviously at present is not feasible. The adverse relations with India make us lean heavily on China, a relationship that has proved to be beneficial, despite not being looked at favourably by the US and the West. All these factors make it necessary that leaders take comprehensive in-depth analysis of the feasibility of foreign and economic policy goals that provide greater freedom of action and promote national interests.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2^nd, 2022.

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