The West needs a fresh strategy for Pakistan: report

Report identifies ways in which the US and Europe can better work together to address complex challenges in Pakistan

UNITED STATES: The United States and Europe need to adopt a novel approach to Pakistan as Nato-led forces leave Afghanistan this year, argues a report by the German Marshall Fund and the Swedish Defense Research Agency.

Economic development, civil-military relations and governance, nuclear proliferation, and counter-terrorism should be at the forefront of the new Western strategy for Pakistan, the authors of the report recommended.

The report predominantly argues that a more coordinated approach is required for Pakistan combining an economic strategy with a security strategy. A more long-term strategy will be needed to steer Pakistan out of its instabilities and toward a healthier direction.

It makes a set of policy recommendations for the transatlantic community in four key areas, namely, economic development, civil-military relations and governance, nuclear proliferation, and counter-terrorism.

With Pakistan’s fast growing nuclear arsenal at the forefront of the world’s concern, the recommendation outlines that the dangers posed by Pakistan's nuclear development should be highlighted through public statements which should attempt to define clearer incentives for Pakistan to adopt a more stabalising nuclear posture.

"The discussion of Pakistan’s nuclear programme should feature not just in dialogues between the transatlantic allies, but also in formal Track-I and Track-II dialogues with China, India, and Afghanistan," the report notes, while emphasising how Pakistan’s nuclear programme is almost entirely absent in both US and European dialogues with China.

On counterterrorism, the authors of the report suggests that the United States and Europe need to establish a clearer division of labor on counterterrorism issues, including by realising a clear role for the European Union.

"A better understanding of the implications of Pakistan’s continued support for militant proxies is needed, as well as efforts to deepen cooperation between Afghanistan and Pakistan," said the report, adding that US and European policy toward terrorism and militancy in Pakistan has been shaped by the intervention in Afghanistan and the threat of exported terrorism for the better part of 15 years.

Additionally, the report says, the transatlantic partners can help to increase the civilian role in law enforcement within Pakistan, including through training programs and development assistance.

The West's policy should also aim to facilitate Afghanistan-Pakistan cooperation on counter-terrorism by better tracking militancy in the region and improving law enforcement and customs procedures.

Interestingly, the report also urges "using Malala Yousafzai’s Nobel Peace Prize to further raise public awareness about Pakistan’s complicated web of militant, insurgent, and Islamist entities and what they mean for the country, region, and international community."

On civil-military relations and governance, the report argues that the United States and Europe can do much more to focus their efforts on specific governance issues — such as energy and education — rather than spreading "themselves too thin".

Western support could involve initiatives to empower parliamentary standing committees and the judiciary, the report said.

"Better efforts can be made to shape popular narratives by supporting and educating members of the media and reforming school curricula," said the report.

Additionally, the United States and Europe can do much more to take human rights violations seriously, the report argued. "This should involve holding the Pakistan government more accountable for human rights abuses by security forces or state-supported militias against religious and ethnic minorities, women, and other marginalised groups."

Finally, on economic development, Andrew Small argues that the United States and Europe, as the largest providers of development assistance and export destinations, still have a role to play in transforming Pakistan’s economy from its current parlous state.

"But this would involve embracing and cooperating with a new wave of regional infrastructure initiatives and economic institutions, often driven by the Gulf States and China," said the co-author of the report.

The United States and Europe can also use their bilateral and multilateral economic leverage to advance efforts at regional integration and connectivity, he argued.

"And they can use the military withdrawal from Afghanistan to reorient the relationship around economics and investment, in order to help Pakistan realize its potential as an emerging market," he said.

The report suggests that the West should be supportive of new infrastructure initiatives and realise Pakistan's potential as an emerging market.

The US and its transatlantic partners have also been directed to invest in the media and media training. Funding for the public education system should also be expanded, said the report.

More importantly, the report recommends that investment should be made in key areas such as education and energy supply, rather than across a broad range of sectors, where investment may bear no fruit.

As forces begin to depart from Afghanistan, it may be time for a fresh start and a new policy for Pakistan, one which is not in conjunction with Afghanistan's policy, the report maintains, while maintaining that Pakistan will still remain crucial in Afghanistan’s stability following the drawdown of the military.