A total lack of transparency

In pacts with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain

Whatever is happening vis a vis Pakistan’s revitalization of relations with Saudi Arabia and Bahrain is marked by opaqueness. The country suddenly received $1.5b described as ‘grant’. Originally the name of the donor was kept a secret. Even when media finally discovered through its own sources that the money had come from Saudi Arabia, no satisfactory answer was provided about the quid pro quo. Enter King of Bahrain. He undertakes a gesture unusual on the part of a foreign head of state to visit the Joint Staff Headquarters. We are assured by the prime minister that no Pakistani troops are being sent on any mission abroad. But is the country providing military advisers and trainers to Bahrain and with what job description? The question assumes relevance on account of the role played in Jordan by the then Brig. Zia ul Haq on a similar mission. Zia orchestrating what came to be known as the infamous Black September. Is Pakistan supplying retired army personnel to Bahrain? There were disturbing reports three years back regarding retired uniformed personnel and civilians engaged by Bahrain’s security establishment who used disproportionate force to quell the Arab Spring in the Kingdom, leading to negative coverage in the Arab media.

Pakistan is a democracy and transparency is one of the characteristics that define this system of governance. The government commands majority in the National Assembly. Why is it not taking the house into confidence over the questions that continue to be raised by the opposition parliamentarians and the media? The secrecy being employed in diplomacy indicates a lack of faith in parliamentary processes. This also gives rise to suspicions that the government is trying to hide facts that could be damaging.

The PML-N leadership has been accusing former military ruler Pervez Musharraf of dragging Pakistan into a war that was not in the country’s interest in return for US dollars. It is maintained that the country continues to suffer from the consequences of Musharraf’s decision in the form of terrorist attacks which have killed over thirty thousand civilians and about three thousand soldiers. Musharraf could make secret pacts harming the country’s interests because he was a military dictator who considered himself accountable to none. Nawaz Sharif on the other hand is answerable to the masses who elected him and to National Assembly which chose him as the first among equals. Concerns have been expressed that Pakistan might be sucked into another quagmire. Further that the ongoing secret diplomacy might result in more sectarian bloodshed in Pakistan, leading to the emergence of another kind of Taliban in the country. The sooner the details of agreements are made public the better.