Nawaz Sharif won’t find it easy
Running a government is not an easy task as Nawaz Sharif might find out in the coming weeks. He has already piles of files stacking up on his table but that is too simple a twist on a task that has brought down many. As the devil is in details, the elder Sharif needs to get down to business before he is overrun by this meeting or that, a flaw of the system most of our governments have been a victim of. But everything aside, what requires the new premier’s immediate attention is the escalating tension between India and Pakistan, drone attacks and peace in Afghanistan.
If the newly elected PM thought his time ahead was going to be easy, he would be in for a surprise. The German foreign minister’s visit to Islamabad to discuss the endgame in Afghanistan is the West testing the waters before jumping into it. They are interested in seeing if the new administration in Islamabad is going to make some changes to the country’s foreign policy. Nawaz Sharif has, however, stated that his government wants an “Afghan-led and Afghan owned” peace process, but how far he is willing to go to make this happen still remains to be seen. He had asked for Maulana Samiul Haq’s help in getting the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table but, as reports suggest, the PM has not yet contacted Maulana Sami again for an update on the issue. Maybe he has realised that before offering unconditional help in a mess created by others, he needs to see where everyone stands and what everyone stands to gain, which, if it is so, is a good decision.
In a recent cross-border firing incident on LoC in Poonch sector an Indian JCO was killed. Though Pakistan military has denied that it fired, the Indians claim it was “unprovoked firing” from the Pakistani side that killed the officer. They say the incident was a cover to let terrorists cross border into Kashmir. With Pakistan military denying the incident, militants might really have taken advantage of both militaries. In the backdrop of recent accusations on the ISI being involved in inciting terror in India, and manhandling of a Pakistani diplomat in India, relations between the neighbours have become strained. Nawaz Sharif has a tough task ahead to sort out the mess, launch an inquiry into the incidents, and deal with those who are found involved in any such rogue activity. That would help bring India to the table for peace talks.
The issue of drone attacks also needs his attention. The fact that they are viewed as an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty, and that they are causing more anti-US feelings and thus creating more terrorists, should help narrow down Pakistan’s and US’s choices. How soon Nawaz Sharif can come around to these issues and how well he handles them will define the way he intends to govern this country in his third stint.
