Interview: ‘Pakistan at war within, isolated abroad’ –Tariq Azim Khan

Failure is not an option for Pakistan

Once again the ruling party finds much on its plate it would rather do without. The fight against terror rages on, bringing news of success, which is welcome. But the extension, of sorts, to Urban Sindh has not turned out so smooth so far. The case against MQM keeps piling up. And the PPP, too, seems on the run for the moment. Then there is the lingering energy problem, which hounds the government from north to south.

Increasingly, though, there is the perception that the civilian government is ceding space to the brass. Often enough the army is seen doing the work that the government is supposed to. And the trend has been observed for some time now, leading some to wonder if a soft coup has taken place in Pakistan.

To make sense of the situation, DNA talked exclusively to PML-N’s Tariq Azim. Having served with elements of the brass, and now in a civilian-proper setup, he is uniquely placed to explain latest developments.

Question: Is there a ‘soft coup’ in Pakistan?

Tariq Azim: No, there is no ‘soft coup’ in Pakistan. In fact, for the very first time in history of Pakistan, the army and the civilian government are enjoying an excellent working relationship. The army and the PML-N, under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, are on the same page on all of the important issues including terrorism. I think we should not call the good working relationship a ‘soft coup’ because it only leads to misunderstandings. There is absolutely no ‘soft coup’ in Pakistan. In fact, media should abstain from preaching such negativity in the larger interest of the country when Pakistan is fighting terrorism. And both civilian and political leadership want to get rid of extremism under the ongoing National Action Plan and Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

In fact, there is such good coordination between the government and the army that people refer to three Sharif brothers now – Nawaz, Shahbaz and Raheel.

Q: Don’t you think foreign policy and the national security are under the control of the military establishment?

TA: The foreign ministry is working directly under the prime minister and he has a seasoned advisor on foreign affairs and national security. This impression is completely vague and wrong that the army is in control of foreign policy. The foreign policy and matters of national security are decided by the civilian government with input from the military establishment, being an important national institution of Pakistan.

‘Pakistan, today, is at war within, while isolated abroad. Its independence and sovereignty stand compromised; its economic weaknesses are forcing us to go begging, while foreign states undertake unilateral strikes on its territory and non-state actors use it as a sanctuary to pursue their own agendas. Consequently, a deep malaise afflicts the country; its social, economic and political schisms are creating grave doubts and misgivings even in the minds of our friends. The reasons are many and complex, but primarily it is our failure to build a democratic, progressive, and tolerant Islamic state, as envisioned by Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-e-Azam’

A coherent, well-formulated and popularly supported foreign policy is essential, especially in this age of globalisation, when new and daunting challenges have emerged. Foreign policy cannot be seen in isolation, for it is only a reflection of a country’s domestic policy. The two are linked inextricably, as foreign policy cannot be effective and credible unless backed by a domestic policy that promotes harmony and good governance at home.

Pakistan, today, is at war within, while isolated abroad. Its independence and sovereignty stand compromised; its economic weaknesses are forcing us to go begging, while foreign states undertake unilateral strikes on its territory and non-state actors use it as a sanctuary to pursue their own agendas. Consequently, a deep malaise afflicts the country; its social, economic and political schisms are creating grave doubts and misgivings even in the minds of our friends. The reasons are many and complex, but primarily it is our failure to build a democratic, progressive, and tolerant Islamic state, as envisioned by Allama Iqbal and the Quaid-e-Azam.

This is all the more unfortunate as Pakistan is located at an important junction of South Asia, West Asia, and Central Asia. The country could be a bridge between energy rich Central Asia and Iran on one side and energy deficit countries like China on the other. Pakistan’s coastal belt facilitates access to warm waters and oil rich Gulf, as well as international oil supply lines passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan can also develop a flourishing transit economy because it provides the shortest land routes from Western China to the Arabian Sea through the Gwadar Port, while linking India with Afghanistan and CAR and providing land route from Iran to India and access to the Central Asian Republics to the Arabian Sea and India for oil/gas pipelines. To take advantage of these assets and opportunities, the PML-N is committed to a thorough and comprehensive review of our national security and foreign policy, to bring it in consonance with the hopes and aspirations of the people. To this end, PML-N will continue taking steps.

Q: During its political campaign PML-N announced better ties and trade with India. What happened?

TA: Trade is an important aspect of PML-N’s agenda, which focuses on economic development, but the thing is that you clap with two hands. If the Indian prime minister gives statements against Pakistan, how could we have better ties with them?

Pakistan is not ready to hold ties with India on its terms. The PML-N government is clear that there could be no dialogue without the water and Kashmir dispute on the table. We want to maintain a tension-free, if not cordial, relationship with all the neighbouring countries including India. The government will take up the issue of anti-Pakistan statements with the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Prime Minister Sharif had placed the recent “threatening statements” from India before United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent meeting between the two in Dushanbe.

Secondly, The Senate of Pakistan approved a unanimous resolution, which strongly condemned the recent provocative speeches made by the top political brass of India, including the threats they made to attack Pakistani territory. The resolution stated that the House emphasises that Pakistan would never allow its territory to be violated by India under any pretext, and that Pakistan’s armed forces are capable of issuing a befitting response to any such incursion.

The Upper House of Parliament has urged the international community to take notice of India’s provocative statements, which do not bode well for regional peace and affect prospects of sovereignty and stability.

Q: What is your opinion about the BBC story concerning MQM? What actions is the government taking?

TA: The prime minister has ordered a thorough probe into the allegations made by the British Broadcasting Corporation against the fourth largest political party of Pakistan.

The interior minister also categorically stated that BBC’s documentary about MQM allegedly receiving funds from India strengthened Pakistan’s apprehensions against India regarding interference in Pakistan.

The government has asked the British government to help in getting more details about the allegations. The government told the British high commissioner that it needed London’s help in investigating the claims.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said that on behalf of government of Pakistan he will formally write to government of United Kingdom (UK) requesting them to give access to Pakistani authorities.

‘Pakistan is not ready to hold ties with India on its terms. The PML-N government is clear that there could be no dialogue without the water and Kashmir dispute on the table. We want to maintain a tension-free, if not cordial, relationship with all the neighbouring countries including India. The government will take up the issue of anti-Pakistan statements with the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Prime Minister Sharif had placed the recent “threatening statements” from India before United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a recent meeting between the two in Dushanbe’

The allegations are serious but they should not be used to malign MQM as a political party. There are many good and respectable politicians in MQM who have done a lot for democracy and the country. PML-N’s government will ensure that the all the allegations are probed without any influence and on merit.

Q: What are the reasons of the prevailing energy crisis? What steps is the PML-N government taking to overcome it?

TA: There are multiple reasons for current energy crisis, ranging from the dilapidated transmission network to line losses, electricity theft to non-payment of bills, corruption, increasing demand and more reliability on imported fuel for power generation. All of them need to be fixed on an immediate basis to meet future energy requirements, but curbing circular debt is vital among other issues.

The PML-N’s government has taken major initiatives towards fulfilling energy demand, which include new generation, completion of ongoing projects and other options like electricity import. These initiatives are short, medium and long term. It is believed that in 2017-18 a major portion of the country’s energy demand would be met after Pakistan has signed the agreement with China about the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Presently, what we envisage is to tackle the circular debt and system losses on priority in order to end load shedding in the minimum possible time and in three years there will be a market for wholesale trade of electricity and most importantly consumers, using the distribution network of the local DISCOs and the transmission network of the national grid, will be able to buy electricity from their preferred producer. And once there is enough competition in the market, neither government guarantees nor government subsidies will be required and prices will start to go down as they have in the mobile telephone market.

These measures will not only solve our lingering energy crisis but also shift focus of the energy sector from high cost imported fuels to indigenous energy resources and reduce the total energy import bill and add at least 3.5 percent to the annual GDP.

Q: Will the PML-N government support the military when the ongoing operation reaches Punjab after Sindh?

Answer: The prime minister is very clear from day one that the menace of terrorism would be defeated in all parts of the country, including the tribal belt, KP, Punjab and Balochistan without any discrimination. He made it clear that terrorists would be given punishments irrespective of their political affiliations. Failure is not an option for Pakistan; we have to win the war against terrorism and eliminate terrorists to secure the country and the future of our generations.