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Bottom Line: Makes the case for Pakistan civilian leadership and the int'l community needs to let and help Pakistan develop quickly to permanently tackle the instability caused by extremism.
Image Credit: ISPR
Pakistan’s security dilemma far from over
In his zealous pursuit of fancy projects such as modern train lines and bus services, Prime Minister Sharif appears to have overlooked the vital and basic needs of ordinary Pakistanis
By Farhan Bokhari, Special to Gulf News
Published: 18:06 January 14, 2017
A sharp fall in terrorist attacks across Pakistan in the past year led to an optimistic note from one of the country’s leading brokerage houses on Friday. A drop in terrorist attacks in statistical terms easily suggests that the law and order conditions across the South Asian country have improved significantly. Perhaps so. Yet, the danger of a dramatic uptick in terrorist violence can just not be ruled out. Principally, there are two reasons for caution. On the one hand, the statistical evidence on its own does not mean that the trend has been halted. On the other hand, the root cause of violence in the first place is still waiting to be tackled.
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, an America-led counter-offensive sought to demolish Al Qaida safe havens in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan. One of the biggest indications of how that campaign failed has essentially been the continuing violence in Afghanistan, led by hard-line groups, including those targeted by the US. Elsewhere too — notably in Iraq, where the US launched a campaign to remove the late former president Saddam Hussein — the continuing militant violence simply refuses to end.
In Pakistan, activities of violent groups have been confronted by the army through a widely popular campaign that sought to wipe out some of their best-known sanctuaries. However, the military arm of anti-terror operations represents just one side of what ought to be a multi-dimensional strategy to deal with terrorism. For instance, an analysis of the statistical evidence alone suggests that the number of terrorist attacks last year were significantly fewer than the year before. And yet, that evidence provides little assurance of the downturn being a permanent feature, unless the military action is followed up with long overdue reforms.
Abject poverty
Across Pakistan, widespread evidence of the prevalence of poverty clearly suggests that there will be plenty of scope for young men from disenfranchised homes ready to join hard-line causes. Surrounded by abject poverty of the kind that remains unimaginable in daily lives, impoverished neighborhoods essentially remain the breeding ground for future terrorists.
Meanwhile, there is also plenty of anger across the most under-privileged neighborhoods, for long neglected by successive ruling structures. Across Pakistan, widespread evidence of failing essential services, notably health care and education, have ultimately contributed to the malaise. In stark contrast to these poorly-run facilities for Pakistan’s widely neglected under privileged, the mushroom growth of privately-owned service providers says much about Pakistan’s direction. Ultimately, access to education and health care, which should be available as a matter of right in any civilized democracy, can simply not be taken for granted in present-day Pakistan.
On other critical fronts, there can be no substitute to the ruling structure and the Pakistani state assuming a central responsibility for building a fresh narrative to give a new direction to the country. Such a narrative ought to provide an alternative view of the world to Pakistanis, which will serve as an alternative to the messages that flow from hardliners. An essential centerpiece of that effort must be built upon two equally vital planks.
First, it is essential for the top level of the establishment to recruit individuals with a powerful capacity to articulate a message of reform. For too long, however, governments in Pakistan have routinely ignored the need to deliver powerful messages and instead focused more on delivering messages with little relevance to meeting the daily challenges of ordinary Pakistanis.
Second, making the message stick must indeed become centrally relevant to the cause of reforms in a meaningful way. This essentially means that the cause of pushing ahead with a powerful reform agenda must not just be about presenting a more powerful narrative. It is equally vital to stitch that narrative with action by way of addressing gaps in public services.
One such gap became glaringly obvious just in the past week when Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif renewed a subsidy for the country’s badly-battered farmers. This finally ensured continuation of the government’s support to farmers after it was made known recently that an earlier subsidy for agriculture was about to end.
Threat of a backlash
Tragically however, Sharif’s change of heart seemed to have taken place on account of the threat of a backlash, aided by the likes of Asif Ali Zardari, the former president. Moreover, the thought of a wider backlash from farmers working against Sharif in the run-up to the next parliamentary elections due in the summer of 2018, must have weighed in too as an essential factor. It is a blatant example of policy making effectively being held hostage to short-term political considerations rather than long-term national interests.
In the past three years, since Sharif became Pakistan’s Prime Minister, prospects for farmers have consistently headed southward. In his zealous pursuit of fancy projects such as modern train lines and bus services, Sharif appears to have overlooked the vital and basic needs of ordinary Pakistanis. It is an oversight that has cost Pakistanis very dearly.
In sharp contrast to the often-repeated claim of Pakistan’s economy flourishing as never before, a reality check will help present a more sobering message: That as long as Pakistanis across the board do not feel hopeful about the future of their country, any claim of progressive change will ring hollow.
Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.
Image Credit: ISPR
Pakistan’s security dilemma far from over
In his zealous pursuit of fancy projects such as modern train lines and bus services, Prime Minister Sharif appears to have overlooked the vital and basic needs of ordinary Pakistanis
By Farhan Bokhari, Special to Gulf News
Published: 18:06 January 14, 2017
A sharp fall in terrorist attacks across Pakistan in the past year led to an optimistic note from one of the country’s leading brokerage houses on Friday. A drop in terrorist attacks in statistical terms easily suggests that the law and order conditions across the South Asian country have improved significantly. Perhaps so. Yet, the danger of a dramatic uptick in terrorist violence can just not be ruled out. Principally, there are two reasons for caution. On the one hand, the statistical evidence on its own does not mean that the trend has been halted. On the other hand, the root cause of violence in the first place is still waiting to be tackled.
In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, an America-led counter-offensive sought to demolish Al Qaida safe havens in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan. One of the biggest indications of how that campaign failed has essentially been the continuing violence in Afghanistan, led by hard-line groups, including those targeted by the US. Elsewhere too — notably in Iraq, where the US launched a campaign to remove the late former president Saddam Hussein — the continuing militant violence simply refuses to end.
In Pakistan, activities of violent groups have been confronted by the army through a widely popular campaign that sought to wipe out some of their best-known sanctuaries. However, the military arm of anti-terror operations represents just one side of what ought to be a multi-dimensional strategy to deal with terrorism. For instance, an analysis of the statistical evidence alone suggests that the number of terrorist attacks last year were significantly fewer than the year before. And yet, that evidence provides little assurance of the downturn being a permanent feature, unless the military action is followed up with long overdue reforms.
Abject poverty
Across Pakistan, widespread evidence of the prevalence of poverty clearly suggests that there will be plenty of scope for young men from disenfranchised homes ready to join hard-line causes. Surrounded by abject poverty of the kind that remains unimaginable in daily lives, impoverished neighborhoods essentially remain the breeding ground for future terrorists.
Meanwhile, there is also plenty of anger across the most under-privileged neighborhoods, for long neglected by successive ruling structures. Across Pakistan, widespread evidence of failing essential services, notably health care and education, have ultimately contributed to the malaise. In stark contrast to these poorly-run facilities for Pakistan’s widely neglected under privileged, the mushroom growth of privately-owned service providers says much about Pakistan’s direction. Ultimately, access to education and health care, which should be available as a matter of right in any civilized democracy, can simply not be taken for granted in present-day Pakistan.
On other critical fronts, there can be no substitute to the ruling structure and the Pakistani state assuming a central responsibility for building a fresh narrative to give a new direction to the country. Such a narrative ought to provide an alternative view of the world to Pakistanis, which will serve as an alternative to the messages that flow from hardliners. An essential centerpiece of that effort must be built upon two equally vital planks.
First, it is essential for the top level of the establishment to recruit individuals with a powerful capacity to articulate a message of reform. For too long, however, governments in Pakistan have routinely ignored the need to deliver powerful messages and instead focused more on delivering messages with little relevance to meeting the daily challenges of ordinary Pakistanis.
Second, making the message stick must indeed become centrally relevant to the cause of reforms in a meaningful way. This essentially means that the cause of pushing ahead with a powerful reform agenda must not just be about presenting a more powerful narrative. It is equally vital to stitch that narrative with action by way of addressing gaps in public services.
One such gap became glaringly obvious just in the past week when Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif renewed a subsidy for the country’s badly-battered farmers. This finally ensured continuation of the government’s support to farmers after it was made known recently that an earlier subsidy for agriculture was about to end.
Threat of a backlash
Tragically however, Sharif’s change of heart seemed to have taken place on account of the threat of a backlash, aided by the likes of Asif Ali Zardari, the former president. Moreover, the thought of a wider backlash from farmers working against Sharif in the run-up to the next parliamentary elections due in the summer of 2018, must have weighed in too as an essential factor. It is a blatant example of policy making effectively being held hostage to short-term political considerations rather than long-term national interests.
In the past three years, since Sharif became Pakistan’s Prime Minister, prospects for farmers have consistently headed southward. In his zealous pursuit of fancy projects such as modern train lines and bus services, Sharif appears to have overlooked the vital and basic needs of ordinary Pakistanis. It is an oversight that has cost Pakistanis very dearly.
In sharp contrast to the often-repeated claim of Pakistan’s economy flourishing as never before, a reality check will help present a more sobering message: That as long as Pakistanis across the board do not feel hopeful about the future of their country, any claim of progressive change will ring hollow.
Farhan Bokhari is a Pakistan-based commentator who writes on political and economic matters.
