Remembering Congo

It seems that sending troops to DRC represents gesture offering glimpse of ideological hope for peaceful future

Pakistan once again joins some 50-odd nation-states who have contributed military personnel to promote peace-keeping in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), along with India and Bangladesh. The entry of a new round of 250 Pakistani troops to DRC with the United Nations Mission reminds us of the war-ravaged region which is so often overlooked in the international media. We somehow overlook the scale of regional war in western Africa even though its level of bloodshed is among the highest in the world. The publication of the United Nations Security Council resolution from the end of March of this year barely made a scratch in the media’s surface — if at all — despite the DRC’s plague of ethnic-based killing from nearby Rwandans. Ethnic-based killings continue today in the region.

Nearly 20,000 foreign troops occupy the DRC, a small fraction of which are from Pakistan. Nevertheless, Pakistan’s presence in the region denotes its international responsibility to uphold peace. This comes shortly after the recent decision by the Pakistani political leaders to keep troops out of Yemen. In western Africa, regional cooperation, government and police corruption and the upholding of civilian rights and international law remain obstacles for peacekeepers. As has been recently highlighted with the death of American and Italian civilians in a White House-approved drone strike, we are heavily reminded that civilians often face the brunt of war even when the intentions of the military power in question are attempting to oust terrorists.

An estimated more than 2.7 million people are considered internally displaced people in the DRC according to the recently issued UN Security Council resolution. This number is staggering when considering Pakistan’s number of IDPs, although great in size, is minute when compared with the dispersal of DRC citizens due to civil and regional war.

Although many argue that Pakistan should not meddle in other nation-states’ foreign affairs, it seems that sending troops to DRC represents a gesture offering a glimpse of an ideological hope for a peaceful future, both in Pakistan and abroad.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2015.