It’s a case of provincial government embarking on stand in contradiction with country’s defence and foreign policies.
JUBAIL, SAUDI ARABIA: Blockade of Nato supplies through Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is now entering its third week. One would assume that such things — protests, rallies and so on — are carried out by opposition parties and not the ruling party itself as is the case with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in K-P.
Let’s try and examine what has been achieved during the last two weeks, which were full of chaos for those who use K-P’s highways. Did the drone strikes stop? No — drone strikes are likely to continue as long as high-value targets are present in Pakistan. Is Nato unable to obtain its supplies? No, since the other supply route via Chaman in Balochistan remains open.
Has the blockade helped Pakistan’s economy? No, on the contrary, it is directly hitting those who make a living ferrying the Nato supplies. In short, what is the benefit of this whole circus? The answer is none at all as far as Pakistan is concerned. It’s a case of a provincial government embarking on a stand in contradiction with the country’s defence and foreign policies. One would expect a bit of maturity from a political party which is in charge of running a province.
Masood Khan
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2013.
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