But why the mystery?
Let’s start with the positives, and God knows we need them because in case you haven’t noticed, cynicism grows on trees in Pakistan. This might be a poor analogy though considering how quickly we are hacking down our trees, yet cynicism appears ‘ever green’. But I digress. Of late, things have been picking up – for the better. Let’s see, we recently had the Chinese president grace our neck of the woods bearing the good news of 46 billion dollar worth of investments in what is famously being called the ‘economic corridor’. This megaproject will connect Gwadar Port in southwestern Pakistan to China’s northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang, via a network of highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas. The potential economic, regional, geopolitical benefits for Pakistan, in all this, are far too many to condense here. Surely this ought to cheer up the most melancholy infested of minds. How could it not considering what a massive improvement this is over America’s annual pittance for our war on terror efforts – money as dark as the project it allegedly funded.
Similarly, the recent LNG contract with Qatar is yet another pat-on-the-back worthy breakthrough — a $21 billion long-term contract at a really nice price. I understand this eerily sounds like a desperate prime time TV ad, but it”s true. Pakistan has struck a nice deal here. Currently, we rely heavily on furnace oil and diesel to fuel our power stations. Both these fuels are relatively expensive. LNG comes as a cheaper, more efficient and environment friendly alternative. Those who sulk and pout in despair should take note and take heart.
Moving on, we all know the government”s uncharacteristically firm stand on the Yemen Crisis. Who would have thought Sharif, a man who owes his life and career to the Saudis, would wiggle out of this one? What surely would have been nothing short of geopolitical suicide, had it been carried through, was wisely avoided. This must have required some really impressive diplomatic gymnastics on part of Sharif and his comrades, considering Pakistan’s terrible dependency on Saudi oil and monetary aid. As a society where emotions inform public opinion and blaming it all on the ‘corrupt leadership’ passes not only for highly animated drawing room discussions but much needed entertainment, it would be nice to once in a while touch base with reality and understand that running a ‘hard country’ is hard work.
Another strong initiative by the government, one discussed and debated extensively on these pages, is NAP. Even though some of its proposed aims and methodologies remain greatly contested, but for a moment please examine the previous decades and see if you can find anything even remotely resembling a holistic strategy involving clearly and coherently online casino delineated actionable steps to rid us of domestic terrorism. Prepare to be underwhelmed as you stare down a long blank passage of absolute nothingness.
The N league, it seems, prefers to operate in the dark. Dark deals, dark operations and dark motives. In so doing, it makes even a positive development appear as a con job
And, not to forget: Zarb-e-Azb. Another commendable undertaking. Largely a military initiative, it has the N-league’s support – to the league’s credit. It’s hard to see when, if ever, there was sweeping consensus between the civil government and military establishment on our cancerous terrorism issue.
With all that said, there is room for improvement. One area that Sharif and his N-league can improve is transparency. The N league, it seems, prefers to operate in the dark. Dark deals, dark operations and dark motives. In so doing, it makes even a positive development appear as a con job. Let’s take the deal (CPEC) with China. Even though the overall picture looks positive, the details are blurry. Considering Sharif’s reputation, blurry easily translates to shady. Questions are being raised. For instance, why was the route of the said corridor mysteriously changed? Allegedly, as per the initial planning, it was supposed to cover large tracts of KPK and Baluchistan, considering these provinces – long abandoned and left to gather dust – would benefit the most from this behemoth of a project aimed at bring economic prosperity to the country. But in a move impressively consistent with N league’s smoke and mirrors politics, the route was recently shifted eastward, covering large areas of the already rich and mighty Punjab – the lion’s den. Apart from lazy non-sequiturs and unmistakable prevarication, Sharif and his boys have yet to provide any clear explanations.
Same with the Qatar LNG deal. Pricing remains a deeply contested topic. Under the terms of the agreement, Qatar will supply Pakistan with 500 million cubic feet per day (mmcfd) of LNG under a pricing formula that translates to a current price of LNG of $7 per million British thermal units (mmbtu). The government has not clarified what that pricing formula is. What about the transportation cost? Landed price is what matters in all transactions. Given that the Iran-Pakistan pipeline looked a far better choice, at least economically, the least this government can do is provide some detailed feedback on the pricing issue that seems to be on the minds of many.
NAP appears to be another dog and pony show. While impressive on paper, the progress on many of its stated aims remains a matter of drawing-room conjecture. Domestic terror is the greatest threat our country faces. With martyrdom-fancying fanatics on the march, there is simply no margin for complacency or under-handed alliances as far as this goes. Yet the government remains rigidly abstruse on this front.
NAP appears to be another dog and pony show. While impressive on paper, the progress on many of its stated aims remains a matter of drawing-room conjecture
One senses a similar lack of coherence on the Yemen Issue. A dilly-dallying affair from the get-go, an air of suspicion hangs over the entire situation. While the decision of not sending troops to Yemen was impressive, as previously mentioned, the official line coming from the N league remains dodgy, almost inspiring pity for exposing how years of begging can make you so pitifully weak.
And last but not least, Zarb-e-Azb may have good things to show for itself, but can we spare a thought for Baluchistan; an entire province – 44 percent of our geographic landmass while hovering mysteriously at almost five percent of our total population – badly embroiled in a battle for secession. Just recently, Mama Qadeer – a Baloch activist – was blocked from giving a talk at a public forum in the country’s most liberal university. The ‘missing people’ narrative resembles a page out of an Orwellian nightmare. Any silence or silencing on this issue, can only lead to a spine-breaking cataclysm for a country that’s already had its share of painful separations.
While progress and development is welcome, nay, necessary, there is simply no scope left for deliberate or incompetent obscurantism.
