Confronted with shrinking space, time for a concerted anti-militancy policy
Most of our political leadership is notorious for showing sinful neglect and irresponsibility with regard to issues that impact matters of the state, but indulging in petty petulance when it comes to dealing with a friend like China is extremely detestable.
The Regional Peace Institute (RPI), a newly-formed think-tank, was invited by the Chinese People’s Association for Peace and Disarmament (CPAPD) to attend a congress in Kunming, Yunnan province commemorating the International Day of Peace 2013. The theme of the conference was “Education for Peace, Cooperation for Win-Win: Common Aspiration of the People in the Region” and it focussed on China’s relations with countries of South-Asia – including Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Maldives.
While all these countries were represented by their respective delegations including parliamentarians, diplomats, academics, intellectuals and members of the think-tanks, a contingent from Pakistan was also invited hailing from similar backgrounds.
Additionally, a large parliamentary delegation was invited together with a delegation from the ruling PML-N.
While the parliamentary delegations from other countries were led by the speakers of their respective assemblies, the speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly was nowhere to be seen. On further enquiry, this scribe was informed that he had preferred to proceed to Geneva to attend a nondescript function and would be going on to some other European capital/s from there. The deputy speaker of the National Assembly was instead nominated to lead the delegation. As it turned out, it would prove to be a serious lapse on the part of those who are unfortunately entrusted with taking such critical decisions in the country.
The incalculable embarrassment that it caused is just one part of the story. Because of protocol sensitivity, the official Pakistani delegation either failed to project the national point of view at most of the forums, or the members were tragically found missing from the functions. At the formal inaugural ceremony of the conference held on September 21at the Haigeng Garden, Yunnan Haigeng Convention Centre, all the speakers heading their respective delegations were seated on the stage, but representation from Pakistan was missing. While these representatives gave a comprehensive presentation of their respective countries’ point-of-view in the context of the attainment of peace in the region, there was no one to project Pakistan’s policy priorities.
Then again at the high-level dialogue on the theme of ‘Converging Wisdom and Consensus: Promoting the New Development of China-South-Asia Relationship’ held on September 22, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly, though allowed to sit on the stage, made a sub-intelligent blabbering speech which, in essence, signified nothing with respect to the theme of the Dialogue. This was in sharp contrast to the powerful and convincing statements made by the speakers from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in addition to experts from China.
The comic interlude came when, after the formal presentations, the chair invited questions from the audience as part of the Q&A session. While members of various delegations came up with incisive enquiries and observations, a member of the Pakistani delegation stood up and made a grandiose, high-sounding speech on Pakistan-China relations taking refuge behind the time-beaten ‘higher than the Himalayas and deeper than the oceans’ coinage. The gentleman went on to make a preposterous analogy: “Mr Chairman, you have a red on your flag and we have a green on our flag. The red of your flag is the real power behind the green of our flag”. Amidst widespread chuckles, even the chair could not help bursting into incredulous laughter. It was truly a moment of shame for the entire Pakistani delegation.
After the event, when this scribe approached the concerned speaker, who was a member of the PML-N delegation, and asked him why he had made such a ludicrous interjection, he simply evaded the question by stating that he had been asked to do so. On further enquiry as to the identity of the one who had commanded him to make a mockery of a speech, he was reluctant to divulge the name. But then, there were many a joker showing bohemian attitude and arrogance for being there as part of the ‘official’ delegation with most of them quite capable of not only clapping the humiliating interlude, but even replicating it to the hilt, or going one better.
But for a few exceptions notably among the female representatives, members of the official Pakistani parliamentary delegation and the PML-N delegation came across as a bunch of happy freeloaders who were least interested in the proceedings of the conference. Instead, they were more interested in letting their ‘official’ status be crudely displayed which became the obvious target of some scathing comments by the members of other delegations – for all the right reasons, too. With the likes of Mamnoon Hussain occupying the presidential throne, such grossness is but a small manifestation of the woeful paucity of intellect and ability that the House of the Sharifs has been traditionally plagued with. Overall, it was an extremely painful show that even the gracious Chinese hosts must have found a little too hard to digest.
Leading the RPI delegation was its chairperson Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri who made an impressive speech at one of the parallel sub-forums on the subject of ‘Opportunities and Challenges: Heritage and Innovative Development of the China-South-Asia Relationship’. This scribe had the honour to chair a sub-session on the theme of ‘Peace Building Process in Afghanistan: The New Starting Point for Reconciliation and Cooperation in the Region’.
Mr Kasuri also spoke at this session and made a strong case for a more proactive China in regional matters. Mr Mushahid Hussain gave an informed and impressive presentation as did Maj Gen Pan Zhenqiang, advisor to the CPAPD and the former director of the Institute of Strategic Studies of the National Defence University who explained China’s policy of non-interference and its philosophy of three ‘Nos’. The Afghan and Sri Lankan points-of-view were also effectively projected by Ahmad Zaher Nuri and Christopher Daneshan Casie Chetty respectively.
An extensive discussion on Afghanistan was held at the workshop on September 27 which was conducted by an expert from the China Academy of Social Sciences and was attended by representatives from Afghanistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. This turned out to be one of the most interesting sessions of the entire programme where various speakers expressed their opinions openly and frankly about the prospects of peace in Afghanistan post-US drawdown in 2014. Most relevant was the experience of listening to the Afghan representatives hailing from the Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara belts of the country.
The discussion encompassed the aspects of the forthcoming elections in the country and their possible repercussions, the ability of the locally raised security forces to establish and maintain peace once the bulk of the US and NATO forces have withdrawn and their competence to not only fill the ensuing vacuum, but not allowing the militants to move in.
The discussion zeroed in on the possible role that China may like to play in such a situation and how could that be any different from the role that it has so far played. There was, however, a consensus among all delegates at this forum that China may have to end up contemplating a role that could be distinctly different from the one that it was currently playing.
After two days of intensive and rewarding sessions in Kunming, the Chinese hosts took the delegates to Nanchang in the Jiangxi province. The programme included visits to Xihai Lake, Yijiahe Village, some modern agriculture companies and farms and the historical Tengwangge Pavilion. The visit to the province ended with a banquet hosted by the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office where each delegate was presented with gracious gifts.
For the third leg of the conference, the delegates were taken to Beijing where they were given a briefing on the ‘Chinese Dream’ encompassing experiences in the political, economic, social, cultural and environmental realms. The executive vice-president of the CPAPD and vice-chairman of the Committee of Foreign Affairs of the 11th National People’s Congress hosted an elaborate banquet for the delegates on September 26.
On the sidelines of the conference proceedings, the visit to the Forbidden City and the Wall of China revealed a different dimension of the history of this great country and the pivotal role that its ancestors had played in making the dream of modern China a reality.
Overall, it was a truly invigorating, enlivening and elevating experience which, above everything else, revealed that so much can be achieved in such little time if your mind is at the right place and you are driven with good intentions about what you set out to do.
In the case of Pakistan, none of this is true, even relevant, because we remain incestuously preoccupied with incompetence and corruption. The undercurrents at the conference, however, may not be propitious for the future. Pakistan has a war at hand: the war against militancy. It is also confronted with shrinking space and time. This war is Pakistan’s very own and it has existential consequences. It is time for Pakistan to get serious about this war because no friendship, no matter how deep-rooted, can sustain an expanding divergence of strategic interests.
Postscript: On September 27, along with my wife and a friend from India, I went visiting a few places in downtown Beijing. After having coffee in the Wang Fujing area, we all got up and started walking towards the underground station to catch a train back to our hotel. We had gone a fair distance when a gentleman came running after us, tapped me on the shoulder and handed me my pair of reading glasses that I had forgotten on the table at the café. A deed reflecting the highest in moral standards and responsibility! Quite simply, we need to change our attitudes if we need to change our country.
The writer is a political analyst and the Executive Director of the Regional Peace Institute. He can be reached at: [email protected]
