Some positives emerged for Pakistan out of the recent crisis
March 2019 witnessed a change in the dynamic of Pakistan-India ties. Some things were made blatantly clear: Pakistan was not the sitting duck the world imagined it to be, Prime Minister Imran Khan was no Nawaz Sharif and India, as mighty as its economic power might be, was still susceptible to fear, rash decisions and bad press. India saw a turn in its PR fortunes on the global stage. Suddenly, international media outlets were inundated with images and videos of a united National Assembly and Prime Minister Imran Khan advocating restraint, dialogue and lastly the ultimate PR coup: the release of Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthamanam of the Indian Air Force. This sync between Pakistan’s government, armed forces and media highlighted the possibility of a growing maturity in the echelons of power. It would not be amiss to say that the events after 27 February brought Pakistan and India to the brink of what could have resulted in a major militarily armed conflict. It is important, now, that the leaders and policy makers of Pakistan step back to analyze the effects of this crisis.
India’s propaganda that Pakistan is the Big Bad Wolf of the region, allegedly harbouring and nurturing blacklisted terror outfits, is a narrative created and sold successfully to the world. The fact that Pakistan has probably suffered the most at the hands of terrorism economically and in the cost of human lives lost, is an afterthought in the collective consciousness of the world. India’s campaign to malign Pakistan as the reason why there are continued attacks on Indian armed forces in Kashmir, is part of a plan to not only isolate Pakistan diplomatically but also to undermine and discredit the indigenous freedom movement of Kashmir. India wants Kashmir to always remain a ‘bilateral/internal’ matter. Due to its economic might and a consistent foreign policy, it has prospered in its aim thus far. Pakistan’s relative sluggishness to pursue concrete foreign policy goals and to present its counter-narrative to the world has till now been of no avail.
While the economy and people of Pakistan have suffered at the hands of terror, there is some truth in the matter that our ‘good-Taliban-bad-Taliban’ policy build-up has cost us dearly
It is pertinent to remember that while the economy and people of Pakistan have suffered at the hands of terror, there is some truth in the matter that our ‘good-Taliban-bad-Taliban’ policy build-up has cost us dearly. Successive military and civilian governments have come and gone, all the while sweeping this particular issue under the rug. Call it lack of will or flat-out denial, the repercussions of the 1980s haunt us still. It would probably come as no surprise that things came to a head when the Financial Action Task Force, the international watchdog for money laundering and terror financing, placed Pakistan on its grey list in 2008 and then later from 2012 through 2015. Add to this a weak implementation of law and delays within the justice system, far-right anarchists found fertile ground to flourish. A case in point is the Tehreek e Labbaik’s emergence as a legitimate political party ready to contest general elections in 2018. As the FATF’s 15-month-long deadline crawls closer to expiry, Pakistan must act soon so as to prevent its already crippled economy from coming to an excruciating halt.
The PTI’s government seems to have recognized the significance of this. With startling maturity, Prime Minister Imran Khan rose to the occasion as a statesman. Verbalizing overtures of peace followed by equal amounts of firmness to deter India from any misadventure, he was applauded from within his country and without. He reiterated that Pakistan’s soil would not be allowed to be used for terrorist activities. Khan’s critics, were dumbfounded, the citizens of Pakistan in shock; it is a rarity to see the opposition consisting of Mian Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal and Asif Zardari, and their stalwarts, stand up in full vocal support of the government. The country witnessed what would probably be recorded as one of Imran Khan’s finest moments in power. Pakistan stood clearly in the right, the world kept quiet in the face of Indian hostility, a testament to its aggressive pursuance of foreign policy goals coupled with phenomenal economic progress. This in itself was a wakeup call to the powers that be. On 3 March the government began a crackdown on blacklisted organizations. Madrassahs, mosques and ambulance services run by these groups were taken over by government officials in a demonstration of the ruling party’s intention to put this matter to rest. What remains to be seen is how the government plans to rehabilitate and bring into the mainstream the thousands of youth in these madrassahs and employees of the groups’ various welfare services. Meanwhile, it is a step in the right direction.
As the 23rd March, Pakistan Day, approaches, it is a moment of reflection. If anything, the Pak-India crisis has served to remind us of our glaringly obvious shortcomings and how we seem to be lagging behind on the global stage, getting caught in the dust of India’s progress. Economic strength guarantees a seat at the table. It gives a country the power to be absolved of antagonism or human rights abuses. The world will close its eyes towards all the killings, rapes, beatings and tortures as long as economic might is right. It is what makes the world tick and at the moment, Pakistan’s economic woes, its lack of economic presence on the global stage, is abysmal. If Pakistan wants to have an equal say in the international community it must address its deficiencies with urgency. It must learn from its plethora of mistakes and move forward. For the first time in decades, the leaders of Pakistan set aside their personal agendas if only for a while, and reached towards a higher goal and found themselves, on the right side of history. No matter what path this country takes, history books will record for future generations that in the face of war, Pakistan stood united even for the briefest of moments.
“There is no power on Earth that can undo Pakistan” – M.A. Jinnah (Founder of Pakistan)
