Ends and means

Intent is fine, but where is the strategy?

Few would disagree that Nawaz Sharif genuinely wants to have good relations with India, bring the economy out of doldrums and put an end to terrorism. Most Pakistanis would readily support the goals reiterated by the prime minister in his interview with the Daily Telegraph. What is however being questioned is whether the objectives can be achieved without a meaningful strategy.

While Nawaz Sharif was making initial moves to improve relations with India, the peace process got a jolt after the killing of five Indian soldiers which the neighbouring country blamed on a joint Pakistan Army-LeT operation. The Pakistan government and army have vehemently denied the accusation which continues to be made with equal force by the Indians. Incidents like the Kargil misadventure and the Mumbai terrorist attacks which were orchestrated when peace looked a feasible proposition, the present border incident is also widely attributed to the shortsighted but powerful offstage players who think it suits them to keep the pot boiling in South Asia. Since Nawaz Sharif is a chief executive people naturally expect him to rein in the powers that are allergic to Pak-India amity. Whether he prime minister is willing to assert remains to be seen.

Nawaz Sharif maintains that economy is his priority. He is keen to turn Pakistan into a hub of economic activity in the region that spreads from Central Asia to India. He has already given approval to a plan for the upgradation of the existing railway track between Karachi and Peshawar at a cost of $2.7 billion. There is a proposal to build a new alignment for the Khunjrab-Gwadar port while Karachi is to be connected with the Motorway. The PM has proposed the construction of a tunnel through the Margalla hills to link Islamabad with Haripur and the Islamabad expressway would be extended up to Muzaffarabad. Good plans, but where is the money to come from? As the Daily Telegraph report puts it, less than 0.5 per cent of the population pays any tax. Fixing tax collection is however not the top priority for the PML-N government. Unless there are realistic plans to achieve the goals, they end up as pipe dreams.

Nawaz Sharif has yet to decide whether to talk to the militants or to fight them. The TTP meanwhile continues to launch terrorist attacks almost every day. The indecisiveness on the part of Nawaz Sharif has led the critics to maintain that the PM is directionless and unfocused. It has on the other elicited a harsh response from the TTP which has accused Nawaz of speaking the language of “others”. The national security policy is yet to be formulated. All that the government has done in two months and a half is to change the nomenclature of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet (DCC) to Cabinet Committee of National Security (CCNS).