The US equation
Given our current economic and military links to Washington, is it realistic to envisage a total break?
All parties need to adopt a more sensible, more sensitive and more realistic approach regarding Pak-US relations. PHOTO: FILE
Rhetoric, slogans and drama are, of course, very much a part of any election campaign. This is as true for us as any other country; indeed, perhaps more so than most.
But given our current, rather precarious circumstances, parties need to exercise some degree of caution and demonstrate maturity. The anti-US slogan, as we all know, is a popular one with people. But, given our current economic and military links to Washington, is it realistic to envisage a total break? Or fool people into believing this can happen in the short term? Indeed, the complex network of dependency is not easy to untangle. The relationship between the two nations goes back a long way, and cannot be undone with a single stroke.
For this reason, all parties need to adopt a more sensible, more sensitive and more realistic approach. Right now, we have the parties of the religious right, chiefly the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal and the Jamaat-e-Islami forging ahead during their rallies with a fervently anti-US approach. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has also banked mainly on a stance directed against drone attacks and the war on terror. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has kept its agenda somewhat ambiguous as far as foreign policy goes, while the Pakistan Peoples Party condemns drones but in its manifesto, indicates relations with the US will need to be maintained to one degree or the other, given global realities.
The point is we would all like to see our country move towards full sovereignty and self-reliance, but this cannot be achieved instantly. It is only a target we can endeavour to move towards. For this reason, parties need to act with responsibility, not raise false hopes and avoid raising slogans only because they are popular. Doing so will only build false hopes and unreal expectations; these will, in turn, make it even harder for the incoming government to operate effectively. It can do so only if people have a clear vision of the future and the task of all parties should be to help build this idea.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2013.
But given our current, rather precarious circumstances, parties need to exercise some degree of caution and demonstrate maturity. The anti-US slogan, as we all know, is a popular one with people. But, given our current economic and military links to Washington, is it realistic to envisage a total break? Or fool people into believing this can happen in the short term? Indeed, the complex network of dependency is not easy to untangle. The relationship between the two nations goes back a long way, and cannot be undone with a single stroke.
For this reason, all parties need to adopt a more sensible, more sensitive and more realistic approach. Right now, we have the parties of the religious right, chiefly the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal and the Jamaat-e-Islami forging ahead during their rallies with a fervently anti-US approach. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has also banked mainly on a stance directed against drone attacks and the war on terror. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has kept its agenda somewhat ambiguous as far as foreign policy goes, while the Pakistan Peoples Party condemns drones but in its manifesto, indicates relations with the US will need to be maintained to one degree or the other, given global realities.
The point is we would all like to see our country move towards full sovereignty and self-reliance, but this cannot be achieved instantly. It is only a target we can endeavour to move towards. For this reason, parties need to act with responsibility, not raise false hopes and avoid raising slogans only because they are popular. Doing so will only build false hopes and unreal expectations; these will, in turn, make it even harder for the incoming government to operate effectively. It can do so only if people have a clear vision of the future and the task of all parties should be to help build this idea.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 3rd, 2013.