Daily Times

It has been one year since Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has been in power. It’s premature to judge PTI based upon its promises of Naya Pakistan but still PTI government can’t escape from genuine flak for the economic policies which they did not take so seriously at the start and later on had to give in to economic pressure by first going to International Monetary Fund for bailout package about which they earlier promised they would not go for it and later on presenting the most oppressive budget for fiscal year 2019-20.

One positive take away from the current PTI government is that they made a paradigm shift in Pakistani politics by coming into a power based upon a campaign against a corruption. Call it their card to make a way to power but the issue is genuine and no matter if it seems like the issue is being politicized currently and PTI is using this card to shrink the space on its political opponents, I think it’s better than the situation in the past when the issue existed but no party dared to pitch it in political mainstream. Pakistan badly needs such type of politics where issues plaguing its political system become a point of political scoring among political parties. This superficial tickling with major issues will one day make the masses aware and they will genuinely need an answer from someone who represents them for any dereliction in his/her duty.

Currently, one other thing for which PTI government should be credited is successful tour of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first official visit to the United States. PM Khan’s address at the Capital Arena prior to meeting with the US President Donald Trump where he was welcomed by a record gathering of Pakistani expatriates was an excellent projection of Pakistan to the outside world. The address topped Twitter trends not in Pakistan but across the globe. For the first time, it seemed like Pakistan has got a leader who is popularly followed from hearts by masses and who, despite all the odds in front of incumbent PTI government, believe that the man at the helm will turn the tide. People have not still given up on PM Khan and this is what he assures in his speeches like the way he did in the US address and hopefully he will put an end to the skepticism Pakistanis have about their leaders who always promise for change but nobody has so far turned any promise into reality.

Naya Pakistan should not be all about paradigm shift within domestic political system which is to crack down on corruption rather Naya Pakistan will be incomplete if it does not change the security defined approach of Pakistan’s foreign policy

While I personally think PM Khan’s tour to the US was diplomatically successful. Getting an affirmation from the US for Pakistan with respect to Afghanistan has these years turned into a luxury. Hardly, the US has ever acknowledged Pakistan’s positive efforts for peace accord to be developed between Taliban and Afghan government and many a times Pakistan has got ‘Do More” mantra from the US side. However, this time, though the US still asked that Pakistan needed to improve its efforts for rooting out extremism yet it said that Pakistan had played a significant role for peace in Afghanistan. Some critics of Khan say that the US acknowledgement of Pakistan’s overtures for peace in Afghanistan is not Khan’s magic rather the statement is more driven by the circumstances as the US is in desperate need to make an exit from Afghanistan and currently it wants to be on good terms with Pakistan. You can see it from any perspective but currently it’s Khan-led Pakistan that has got an affirmation from the US. The affirmation is not symbolic in its essence rather it’s a message to the world at large that Pakistan is a peaceful country and believes in peaceful Afghanistan. Unfortunately, misperceptions abound that instability in Afghanistan is because of Pakistan’s manipulation keeping in view its geographical proximity and political bonhomie in the past.

The other diplomatic success that Pakistan achieved through PM Khan’s visit, I think, is the way Kashmir issue made its way to global spotlight during Khan-Trump meeting. The projection of Kashmir issue remained in Pakistan’s favour this time as the US president, while acknowledging the burning nature of the issue, offered to mediate Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India. This is diplomatic milestone for Pakistan in the sense that Pakistan has for quite some time not made any breakthrough with respect to Kashmir issue diplomatically. |Every time, the issue of Kashmir surfaces, instead of analyzing the nature of the issue objectively, the issue gets shrouded in the allegations of Pakistan’s militant groups behind the rising provocation among Kashmiris against Indian state. Trump’s offer for mediation clearly reflects that the US takes the issue as human rights violation issue and thinks that there is a need to free billions of people held hostage between Pakistan and India.

However, keeping the diplomatic breakthroughs aside, Khan’s visit reflected one of the major dilemmas Pakistan foreign policy has always faced. And that is security centric approach Pakistan has in its foreign policy making. Our foreign policy with respect to the US in particular and other states in general, right from the start and until now, seemed more defined by stability in Afghanistan and Kashmir rather than inner problems of Pakistan in the likes of economic crisis, poverty, education, health etc. Foreign Policy in literal sense is not all about state’s take on international issues rather it’s a good medium through which states can find a solution to the problems they face within.

Unfortunately, foreign policy domain has never remained a civilian domain. It is under the influence of some other powerful institutions in Pakistan and this seemed reflective from PM Khan’s visit in which foreign policy overall outlook with the US seemed defined by security perspective rather than an all inclusive approach.

There is a need to bring foreign policy in political mainstream. Any policy that Pakistan adopts should be all inclusive and should be analyzed in parliament with all its pros and cons. Naya Pakistan should not be all about paradigm shift within domestic political system which is to crack down on corruption rather Naya Pakistan will be incomplete if it does not change the security defined approach of Pakistan’s foreign policy.

If Pakistan does not pay heed to reviewing it foreign policy, then even after losing 70,000 civilians like every time we will still be unable to convince someone about our commitment to root out extremism and every time we will get this “Do More” Mantra. Similarly, if Pakistan does not get serious with its foreign policy approach, we will lose cases of genuine human rights violation in the likes of Kashmir for an allegation that we sponsor militancy.

Pakistan really needs to widen the scope of foreign policy for better engagement with world and it will be a huge test for PTI-led government to democratize Pakistan’s foreign policy.

The writer is a teaches at Department of Political Science in University of Management and Technology, Lahore