Interview: Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
In the last five years or so things have totally changed in Pakistan with hardly any good news coming from here
Nadeem Syed
Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri is considered to be one of the most successful foreign ministers of Pakistan, but much of his success was due to the environment he was working in – with General Pervez Musharraf calling the shots and the world highly supportive of him owing to the war on terror.
Like Ziaul haq and Benazir Bhutto, who enjoyed good relations with the big powers, Musharraf too had strong linkages with the world powers. For them Musharraf and Pakistan were synonymous and they were ready to facilitate him, whether it was politics or economy. Hence, the international situation at that time was ideal for any foreign minister in Pakistan and Kasuri was lucky that he was at the helm of foreign office. But times have changed; life is quite difficult for those spearheading diplomacy in Pakistan now.
Kasuri is also a veteran politician, though not too active one in PTI, a party he joined before the elections last year. Kasuri thinks that PTI’s success in politics will mainly depend on how successfully it delivers in KP. DNA got a chance to sit with him and ask about his thoughts on how the government was handling foreign office, foreign affairs and the performance of his party in KP.
Q: Where are we headed in terms of foreign policy?
A: Foreign policy of any country largely rests on the domestic factors. For example, how successful are you back home. I was a successful foreign minister mainly because there was political and economic stability in Pakistan. There was an economic boom with growth touching the magical figures of 7 per cent and more which was second only to China. All sorts of good things were happening with Pakistan being declared part of emerging nations of the world.
But in the last five years or so things have totally changed in Pakistan with hardly any good news coming from here. Image of the country has shattered. Our economic growth has been stymied and stuck under 3 per cent. Law and order situation is worsening day by day. A country with such an environment is hardly taken seriously by the international community.
No doubt the priorities of PPP leader Asif Zardari and now Nawaz Sharif are not bad. But intentions and policies alone do not work until there is stability in the country all around.
It is also very important in the realm of foreign policy that how far all state actors are on the same page. When I was foreign minister, all the state institutions were on the same page whether it were military, foreign office, prime minister’s house and presidency. But in the last five years we have not seen this happening. Even civil-military relations have been under greater stress as evident from challenges like Memogate scandal and controversy emanating from Kerry-Lugar Bill. When this balance disturbs, it distracts attention from the important issues. It is important to note that in countries with insecure borders the role of military increases in politics. So when all the stakeholders are not on the same page, the international community and even the regional players do not take you seriously.
Q: Why is Nawaz Sharif reluctant to appoint a regular foreign minister?
A: It is incredible to find a prime minister with such a heavy mandate shy of appointing his foreign minister, especially since it has its own consequences. It is true that a foreign minister captures greater limelight, but it should not deter a figure like Nawaz Sharif, who is also highly popular, from appointing someone to head the foreign office.
I would recommend that Sartaj Aziz is the right person to fill this important slot. Or at least he should be made in-charge of foreign office. In this way foreign office would know at least who it should look for guidance and who is its boss.
Any foreign minister has a punishing schedule. He is not only looking after foreign office but also needs to attend international commitments. A person who is also prime minister cannot do justice with the duties a foreign minister has to perform both internally and externally.
Q: What are the prospects of Pak-India normalisation?
A: I have been saying this quite regularly that we were quite close to find a settlement of all outstanding issues, including the all-important Kashmir issue. Now the recent statement of the Indian premier has only confirmed this. We have forged breakthroughs regarding Siachen, we were just a sign away from delivering on Sir Creek. We were discussing details and basic principles on Kashmir issue with an eye on the aspirations of all stakeholders. So there was progress all round. I hope that Nawaz Sharif would resume this from where we left as officials on both sides have all the record in this regard.
It is discouraging to see Indian stance hardening over the years as evident from the most belligerent statements coming from the Indian army chief. The same happened from the Pakistani side. But I think it is not a strategic shift in the position of Pakistani army but a tactical move. Our military leadership wants to engage India on the basis of equality.
Q: How do you foresee regional politics keeping in view the recent thaw in US-Iran relations?
A: It is a very positive development. It is positive not only for Pakistan and our region but also beyond it, as we all know Iran wields a great influence in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria.
This year the US is all set to leave Afghanistan. Afghan president so far is reluctant to sign a bilateral security pact with the US government. The presence of US forces very much hinges on whether Karzai signs this pact which would exclude US soldiers from the ambit of Afgan laws.
The Afghan government right now is not ready to sign the agreement. Earlier the Iraq government had not signed a similar pact, leaving no choice for the US but to withdraw all its troops.
Right now most of Americans are in support of full withdrawal from Afghanistan. The Democratic Party insists that the US forces must quit from Afghanistan. NATO forces too are in favour of complete pull-out. There are signs that Mr Karzai will sign the agreement in the end to keep a sizable number of the US troops in Afghanistan, the reason being that the Afghan government and ruling elite will not feel secure in the absence of the US forces.
Q: Being a veteran politician how did you find PTI?
A: Imran Khan is an idealist. His stand on various national issues reflects this idealism. Again, PTI is a democratic entity with its members fully at liberty to express their views. I think the future of PTI will largely depend upon the performance of KP government. There is a strong realisation in the party on this count. As such it is heartening to see the corruption decreasing in KP while quality of services improving.