A new narrative in the offing?
The real challenge that remains for Pakistan is to be seen to walking the talk.
Slowly but surely jhadist groups (within Pakistan) are being asked to pack their bags
Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s recent announcement that declaring jihad was solely the prerogative of the state is a clean break from the policies of the past. Does this mean that jihadists will no longer flourish under state’s ubiquitous umbrella?
Since the days the ideological dictator General Zia ul Haq declared jihad on ‘communist infidels’ to push back Soviet forces from Afghanistan at the behest of the Americans, successive governments –military and civilian — have supported jihad fi-sabeel-Allah.
In fact this policy can trace it genesis much earlier to jihad-e-Kashmir in 1947, when a military-backed tribal lashkar (militia) from Waziristan crossed into the valley. Following the accession to the state of India by the beleaguered maharaja of Kashmir, Hari Singh, a full-fledged war erupted between the two newly independent countries.
General Musharraf, when at the helm of affairs, pursued the same policies. In fact the dictator went a step further when military personnel dressed as jihadists were made to occupy the Kargil heights. This was a game changer, as never before our military had crossed international borders masquerading as militants.
Post exit of Nawaz Sharif as prime minister and the US president’s clear warning to Islamabad to stop providing safe havens to militant groups operating, from Pakistani territory, inside Afghanistan and Indian occupied Kashmir, a new paradigm is emerging. Perhaps the BRICS (association of five major emerging economies Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) declaration putting Pakistan on notice — possibly on the prodding of India — proved to be the proverbial last straw.
Nonetheless, it will be grossly unfair to say that Islamabad is buckling under pressure. Surely it is not. Officially, it has categorically rejected the BRICS declaration.
As the COAS declared at the Defence Day celebrations on the lawns of the GHQ, now is the turn for the world to do more. According to the military chief, Pakistan is one country that has successfully decimated the extremists and terrorists unlike places like Iraq, Syria and Libya where western forces are spending billions of dollars to eliminate jihadists. But in the process not only have these countries been destroyed as nation states but inexorably radicalised as well.
After the exit of Nawaz Sharif the optics of civ-mil relations have exponentially improved. There seems to be more structured consultations that were completely missing in the past.
The former prime minister neither had the time nor the gumption for regular cabinet meetings. Once the cabinet did not meet for seven months at a stretch, a rarity in a parliamentary form of government.
Sharif also avoided convening meetings of the National Security Committee of the cabinet throughout his four-year tenure. Perhaps he felt overawed by the top brass present in a huddle with him. He preferred to summon the military chief and if need be the Military Intelligence (MI) and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) DGs for specific meetings.
However Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, in just a month of his tenure, has held at least three meetings of the NSC. Reportedly a number of issues relating to foreign and security policy, and the economy, have been discussed threadbare in these meetings.
According to those who are privy to such meetings, the ostensible gap between the civilian and military leadership has been bridged to a large extent. The COAS, in the recent meeting of the NSC, implored the civilian leadership to freely chalk out foreign and defence policy in the forum, and if need be take it to the parliament for approval.
A good beginning has been made in this context. The recommendations of the recent three-day envoys conference will be shared and discussed in the NSC and subsequently presented in the parliament as well.
The freshly minted foreign minister, Khawaja Asif, in a recent interview has claimed that the civilian and military leadership are on the same page, and that Pakistan has to make a clean break from its past.
According to Khawaja, in his one-month stint he has learnt what ails Pakistan’s foreign and security policies. This is certainly a clear denouement of the policies perused by his former boss, Main Nawaz Sharif.
Sharif certainly was dismissive of close consultations with the military leadership on vital foreign policy and security issues. That is why perhaps he jealously kept the foreign policy portfolio with himself.
A general perception was created that this is what the top brass preferred. But in reality it was the military leadership that was imploring the prime minister to appoint a foreign minister.
Even a few names were discussed. But Sharif kept procrastinating. It was only Khaqan Abbasi who included Khawaja Asif as foreign minister in his cabinet.
Thankfully, concerted efforts are being made to end Pakistan’s regional and international isolation. After Beijing the foreign minister is expected to visit Moscow, Tehran and Ankara.
He had a fruitful meeting with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi. Both agreed that the Afghan conflict has to be politically resolved as there is no military solution to it.
The most important leg of this process is the prime minister’s visit to New York later this month to address the General Assembly session of the UN. His speech will highlight Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism and the cost it has entailed in terms of losses suffered to its economy, infrastructure and loss of thousands of lives.
Abbasi is due to meet a number of leaders on the sidelines of the GA, including British Prime Minister Theresa May. He is due to meet the US leadership as well. President Trump deliberately snubbed Sharif at the Riyadh summit a few months ago. It is yet to be seen how he treats his successor.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi probably will be in New York at the same time. No meeting is planned. There is no final word in diplomacy. It is however yet to be seen whether better sense will prevail amongst Indian policy makers to resume the stalled dialogue.
The real challenge that remains for Pakistan is to be seen to walking the talk. Slowly but surely jihadist groups (within Pakistan) are being asked to pack their bags.
However, a clear and present danger remains for Pakistan if these groups launch a spectacular terrorist incident in India or Afghanistan that could possibly be traced back to the use of Pakistani territory. New Delhi, Kabul and Washington, in unison, are bound to put the blame on Islamabad for such an attack, if it happens.
In the end analysis Pakistan is fighting nobody else’s war but one for its own for survival. The flawed policies of our past leaderships and the horror they have wreaked on the nation are generally acknowledged now both by the military and political leadership. Hence, understandably, the jihadist mindset persists in sections of our civilian and military institutions, politicians, media and religious zealots.
Only concerted efforts can change that — not overnight but in the not too distant future — provided there are focused and persistent attempts to exorcise the monster from our narrative.
