Daily Times

The indicator of a state’s potential power is its measureable capabilities such as natural resources, population, military and economy. These are what shapes its role on the world stage. However, mishandling these capabilities can turn into a curse, if appropriate skills aren’t developed, God-gifted talents not honed, and a pragmatic approach compatible to contemporary Realpolitik isn’t adopted. The subsequent vacuum created can be impinged external forces keen to benefit on what others fail to appreciate and own.

Blaming others and protracting an excuse mislays its status and amounts to debauchery. All players on the global scale toil to secure their own national interest with no room for romancing except for pragmatism.

The East India Company prevailed in the sub-continent appeasing and bribing the elites in the Mogul empire with kickbacks to facilitate consolidation and expansion of the ‘Raj’. As a result it smashed the hard-earned dynasty into smithereens. It typecast the region with slavery for a couple of centuries leaving the slave mindset behind. The countries ripe into an illustrious reference to development, prosperity and enlightenment, and had either employed dictatorial, authoritarian, soft authoritarian and or democratic approaches to realize their national objectives.

Dictatorships might be bad but they ameliorated Cuba to dissuade giants and led the tiny island nation to the Olympics podium and to excel into a model state. The soft authoritarian model worked wonders for Turkey, Singapore and Malaysia. While on the other hand the democratic ideals where applied and practiced in a true sense, it resulted in near-perfect societies in Europe and the United States. These lines are written not in support of dictatorship or authoritarianism, but to identify what went wrong and avert its comeback, if fences are not mended with the harsh realities on ground.

Yes, institutions and mindsets take time to season, however, the argument that democracy hasn’t been ‘allowed’ to prevail in Pakistan fades when compared with the ‘malpractices’ of our ‘civil dictators’ when they ascend to power. There has not even been a slight trace of intention to follow in the footsteps of Scandinavian democracies.

During the past seventy years, both civil and military leaderships have shared an almost equal length of time in power. The socio-economic indicators were found best when boots were on the ground. Who should be ‘blamed’ for the better performance?

The two stints each of the top mainstream political parties, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) during 90s were marred by interference and were “not allowed” to deliver. What about the full tenure of PPP in office and an almost one-year-short on throne of the Mogul prince? And a controversial discouraging stained litmus of Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf (PTI) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PPP in Sindh and Sharifs’ in Punjab —  demonstrates a callous attitude and a general practice “to loot here and invest there” against the vital interests of the motherland. An intense failure of governance amid begging the “umpire” to raise the finger in favor of daggers drawn politicians fighting pitch battles against each other for petty individualized interests instead of pursuing national objectives — it all inveigle those doing their job best and should be restrict within their domain.

Whether natural disasters or emergencies, routine policing, assistance in governance or even to investigate a homicide case of a child’s rape and murder, the desperate assistance of the military is sought, then who would decline an extra paycheck for ad hoc assigned services?

During the past seventy years both civil and military leaderships shared an almost equal length of time in power. The socio-economic indicators were found best when boots were on ground. Who should be “blamed” for the better performance?

The Chinese are cautiously watching their burgeoning investment on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that has grown to $62 billion as for the latest reports. Both China and Pakistan require quietude at the eastern border with India and in the west with Afghanistan. China also desires a direct trade route into Afghanistan through Balochistan. Both the European Union and the United States want Central Asian Initiative to succeed while Russia wants to regain its glorious past. Russia and India also have colliding hegemonic objectives in the region. The garbled scenario is piqued for an out of the box strategy.

Of course, we are gifted with a critical geostrategic location. But have we or can we capitalize on our measurable capabilities? All that requires Pakistan is to establish cordial strategic relations with its immediate natural neighbors for the sake of its own internal cohesion and external gains. One can change the policy but not the natural neighbors.

Each time the international community nods for military regimes in Pakistan, it had been to facilitate larger global agenda objectives. Gen Ayub Khan stepped in to facilitate the US with air force bases against the former Soviet Union; Gen Zia carried the baton forward to defeat the Soviets in Afghanistan and Gen Musharraf continued the relay to cooperate in America’s war-on-terror! And now it’s the CPEC, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the New Silk Road or Central Asian initiative!

A scathing politician-rogue marriage of convenience compromises institutions’ ability to efficiently cope with both internal and external challenges and it doesn’t appear to work for global players in the New Great Game. The developing situation in the region calls for a professional and stable in-all-sort leadership in Pakistan with demonstrated track record of deliverance. Are we heading towards declaration of a national emergency for the fourth time? The boomerang seems to be returning too fast. That’s what a whistle blower can foresee.

The writer is senior journalist and former Political Affairs Advisor to the US Consulate General in Karachi

Published in Daily Times, January 17^th 2018.