US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel shakes hands with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad on Monday. PHOTO: PID
The warning that Secretary Hagel has now delivered in no uncertain terms had been coming for some time. Washington had indeed issued slightly more subtle warnings earlier, and it may indeed have been sensible to heed these. Certainly, the blockade by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has served no useful purpose at all, with the drone strikes it is protesting continuing. Secretary Hagel has simply driven home something we knew already: the blockade of convoys is hurting us, more than anyone else. Truck drivers, other staff aboard trucks and those who earned their livelihoods by providing services along the long route have already been hurt. A US aid cut-off would inflict far deeper wounds on the nation as a whole. Prime Minister Sharif has promised the US secretary that he will deal with the situation. To do so and prevent further damage, he must persuade Imran Khan to act sensibly.
This may not prove an easy task. The PTI leadership has not always listened to reason. In this situation, the legal position, too, becomes relevant, with highways running through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, legally speaking, falling under the control of the federal government. This having been said, we must hope a stand-off can be avoided. The PTI needs to recognise that the situation it has created is simply hurting Pakistan. The US has made it clear that it has other options. Pakistan has very few and this is something that now needs to be taken up. The blockade has gone well beyond a joke.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2013.
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COMMENTS (13)
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Some people conveniently forget that Drones are specifically targeting the terrorists,the terrorists that violate Pakistan's sovereignty Daily ,that specifically and preferably target civilians in crowded places to cause maximum casualties and maim maximum number of Pakistani citizens;they target schools,buses,schools,mosques ,churches,markets and kill polio-workers.The simple way to stop drones is the eliminate terrorists rather than supporting them and being their apologists.Declaring them Martyrs and heroes only encourages them to wreak more havoc.
I wonder how come people this this article is "biased". Stoppage of NATO routes has not stopped the drone attacks but has the potential of ruining Pakistan's economy further than it already is. Sure it is hurting the US right now due to the blockage, but Pakistan is directly hurting itself by blocking the routes. Pakistan is not only risking the millions it was getting for the transport via the supply routes but also the the CSF and rest whatever billions of dollars of aid Pakistan has been receiving from US taxpayers' money. Pakistan needs whatever money it can get right now and the ones who are saying this report is biased are either ignorant or are willingly trying to hurt their own economy with their stupidity.
So we should allow the US to kill wit drones, because we get a cut??? What kind of logic is this?
PTI is part of the problem. they are in federeal power and the stage demonstraion????!!! Civilians stage demos, GOVERMENTS ACT!! They are not fit to be in charge
i am not a big fan of Imran Khan but this editorial is clearly biased. Tribune - we want better journalism...
I haven't seen an editorial more biased than this one
Another article telling us we are doomed if we do not accept America violating our sovereignty at will and killing whomever it deems fit on Pakistani soil.
Another article telling us we are doomed if we we do not declare Pakistan a failed state at the mercy of US drones who can't protect its citizens.
These are the same people who told us not to liberate ourselves from British control because we will be doomed!
Imran Khan will never compromise, nor will he look for face saving. He is doing NO wrong.
Nato blockade is absolutely spot on and a principled decision after illegal drone attacks.
It is rightly observed in the editorial that Imran Khan and reason do not go together. As a matter of fact, this blockage is serving the cause of Taliban more than that of Pakistan who faces economic collapse if foreign aid is completely curtailed.
What good those $16 bn had made to the economy of Pakistan? Compare the economic situation of Pakistan because before this so called war on terror to present, you will see the difference by yourself.
Akin to Hagel's comment when in Afghanistan - all the issues have been discussed so many times that there isn't anything left to say. The only practical reason for this meeting was possibly to give Sharif a little ammunition for dealing with his political opponents.
The way out is to give IK a face Saving Way ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Pres Obama should invite him to the White House.....
@Harris: I'm sitting on the fence on the issue of the blockade due to a host of complicated factors such as effectiveness, usefulness, legality, etc etc. However, you said it pretty well. the Billions will not trickle down to the common man anyway. this sums it up.
What a biased piece of crap! The damage that the trucks have done and continue to do to our infrastructure is just about covered in the Billions that this article is advocating. Furthermore, the Billions will not trickle down to the common man anyway. N League and cronies will continue from where Zardari and his bunch left off. Imran Khan has at least taken a stand and the biased media is not happy with it either.
NATO supply blockade will trigger the blockade of US aid, may revoke the GSP plus status to Pakistan by EU, will strain the US Pak relation further which Federal Government can not afford.