- Says deeper thinking on issues around trade and investment, education and broader economic development needed for ‘right’ Pak-US ties
Pakistan has the potential to be a global turnaround story with its improving security dynamics and political stability, an article titled “Pakistan: The Next Colombia Success Story?” by Daniel Runde published in the American business magazine Forbes said.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is governing with a competent cabinet, a majority coalition and is working in tandem with the military to deliver peace and security, it stated.
The writer compared Pakistan with Colombia of late 1990s but said that currently Colombia has a free trade agreement with the United States, a stable 3.5 percent annual GDP growth and security is vastly improved.
“Similarly, Western headlines on Pakistan today gloss over the progress on the security front, the increased political stability, and incremental progress on the economic front,” he said.
Daniel said the US policymakers and business leaders need to look at Pakistan beyond the security lens. He said getting American relationship right with Pakistan will require deeper thinking and action on issues around trade and investment, education, and broader economic development.
On action against the Taliban, the magazine said Pakistan’s improving security dynamic is the first change to note. He mentioned the brutal terrorists attack on schoolchildren in Peshawar to which the military responded in force by taking out 157 terrorists via air strikes and ground operations in the North Waziristan and Khyber tribal areas, adjacent to Peshawar.
On political stability, he stated that PM Sharif demonstrated enough of a commitment to democracy. He said for much of last year, Sharif exercised restraint against an active opposition that led a crippling 162-day sit-in in front of the National Assembly to contest the 2013 election results.
He said the military, at the request of the prime minister, encouraged the crowds to disperse peacefully.
“Instead of opting for an aggressive approach, Sharif wisely deferred to an independent judicial commission to verify the results, which recently ruled in favour of his party,” Runde added.
The military’s decision not to use force against protesters suggests that Pakistan could be on its way to further consolidating its democracy, he added.
