A deficit of wisdom

The decision by the PTI to block Nato supply routes is at best ill-considered, and at worst, seriously damaging to both a significant revenue stream and our relations with fellow Nato members. Pakistan has a contractual agreement with the US which brings in a per-vehicle fee to the exchequer and the breaching of which may trigger sanctions by the US as well as jeopardising the payment of $1.2 billion which we are expecting to receive under the Coalition Support Fund. This sum has already been factored into the 2013/14 budget. There are other EU and Nato countries with forces in Afghanistan, as well as fellow Muslim states that are all partners in the coalition and which also, to varying degrees, transport goods overland in Pakistan and which will all be as adversely affected by the blockade as the US. Our trade with EU countries in the previous year was worth $6 bn.

The actions of the PTI appear to contravene the UN resolution on Afghanistan as well as the subsequent agreements made with the US and our Nato partners and the Constitution of Pakistan. They have a knock-on effect in terms of the share of lost revenue of provinces other than Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and present significant difficulties for the K-P government itself. The police are reported to have registered cases against 40 workers of the PTI for manhandling drivers and breaking the seals on containers among other things. A federating unit — K-P — does not have the right to unilaterally breach or violate international agreements and treaties. A symbolic rally against drone strikes is one thing, a sustained and debilitating blockade quite another. Relations with key partner nations are at hazard, as is our international reputation and standing, which can hardly be described as elevated anyway. With power comes responsibility and that responsibility extends to every other province of the federation. It is more than time that the PTI moved beyond the politics of the kindergarten.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2013.

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