Pakistan & USA should seize opportunity

Comment
Abdul Sattar
Editor, Foreign Affairs



President-elect Barack Obama brings enlightened predispositions to his high office as well as a commitment to change policies that made George W. Bush the most unpopular President of the United States in several decades. Vice President-elect Joseph Biden is respected as a sagacious leader who has long exercised beneficent influence on US foreign policy. He has mature and sympathetic understanding of Pakistan and will no doubt be a source of strength to the new administration in devising a strategy for better bilateral relations to serve not only current but also long-term interests. Of course the opportunity has to be seized by Islamabad: it will require not only clear recognition of parallel interests but also identification of plans and policies for their efficient and effective promotion.

Both countries share equal interest in closer cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Just as saving America from another 9/11 remains the Number One external preoccupation of the United States, Pakistan, too, has a vital stake in containing this scourge. Our country has suffered more terrorist attacks and greater toll of death and destruction than any other in the world. Presence of Al-Qaeda foreigners on Pakistan territory and the rising tide of domestic extremism and militancy pose an existential threat both within and abroad. At stake is the vision of our founding fathers of a progressive, moderate and democratic nation committed to development of a modern Islamic state. Its rescue is vital for our nation’s future as also for peace in the region and coexistence between civilizations. Terrorist incidents in other countries have often been linked to extremist religious organizations in Pakistan.

The first issue requiring immediate attention in Washington relates to cross-border missile and drone attacks that have strained cooperation between Pakistan and the United States. Although directed against Al-Qaeda, the bombings have also killed many innocent Pakistanis. Indications are that Mr. Obama id cognizant of the seriousness of the problem and that he will abandon policy of such attacks in Pakistan as well as Afghanistan where air and artillery attacks on crowded villages have made foreign forces an object of hatred making Taliban a lesser evil. Too much should not be made of the statement Mr. Obama gave during the election campaign that he would authorize cross-border attacks because it was qualified by two conditions, namely if Osama Bin Laden was in sight in Pakistan and if Pakistan government was unwilling to ‘take him out.’

US Policy. An earnest attempt at comprehension of US objectives in Pakistan and Afghanistan should start by taking note that Washington twice disengaged from the region in 1970s following the collapse of its policy in South Asia and internal turmoil in Afghanistan after Daud Khan’s coup, and in 1990 when US terminated assistance to Pakistan and Afghanistan leaving them in the lurch with a colossal burden of problems created by Soviet military intervention. For over a decade US remained disengaged. It was 9/11 that triggered the realization in Washington that abandoning the region was a blunder. Only then United States decided to make a ‘durable commitment’ to both Afghanistan and Pakistan. Its purpose now was to eliminate international terrorism and contribute to alleviation of poverty which breeds desperation. The United States and the European Union are now investing substantial resources for economic development and stabilization of the two countries.

It is to be hoped that the current economic crisis and the need to save America from another Great Depression would not constrain US resources and undermine the durability of US commitment in our region. The imminent dispatch of additional US forces to Afghanistan does not necessarily evidence a desire to prolong US military presence. More likely it is a response to the need to counter the threat to stability of Afghanistan posed by the resurgent Taliban. American and NATO combat forces are too inadequate and the new Afghan army too weak to counter the threat. Surge of US forces in Afghanistan follows the success of similar strategy in Iraq and if it proves effectual it could lead to reduction and withdrawal of foreign forces.

Meanwhile, USA and EU are also likely to increase security assistance to reinforce the strength of the Afghan army and economic assistance for reconstruction of Afghanistan. Still another change is expected in strategy for political stabilization by induction of Taliban. The Obama administration is likely to revert to the original objective of the intervention in Afghanistan, which was to punish and destroy Al-Qaeda, and not to exclude religious parties from political power. The Taliban regime committed the blunder of allowing Osama Bin Laden to abuse Afghan hospitality but they are not ideological proponents of international terrorism.

Pakistan’s Policy. To revert to Pakistan-US relations, constructive changes in the offing provide an opportunity for Islamabad to intensify security cooperation with the United States in order to eliminate Al-Qaeda presence on Pakistan territory, promote internal security against terrorism by stemming the tide of obscurantism and extremism that threatens the realization of the progressive and modernizing vision of our nation. Islamabad also needs to prepare a strategy for reforms towards improvement of governance and launching the state on the road to development and consolidation. The United States and the European Union appear inclined to provide substantial economic assistance if Pakistan can set its own house in order. Months ago Senators Biden and Luger introduced a bill in the Senate to increase economic assistance to Pakistan several fold to $1.5 billion a year. Farsighted leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from both political parties, including Senator Barack Obama, recognized that greater emphasis needed to be placed on economic development and social progress in Pakistan.

Emphasize Education. Experience of fast-developing countries like China, South Korea, India and Brazil testifies to the crucial role of education especially in science and technology for economic and social development. Pakistan, a laggard in the field, needs to commit larger resources for promotion of technical education and improvement of standards. It has too long neglected the desperate need for upgrading the quality and scope of education. Enlightened governments in many Muslim countries have recognized the need to pay equal attention to this- as well as other-worldly subjects. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, there are no separate madaris confined to Islamic studies. Religious teaching is compulsory in all schools as one of the subjects of a broad common curriculum. Specialization in religious studies begins at higher levels.

It is high time for Pakistan to catch up with contemporary standards of broad basic education which is imperative for an ethical life as well as economic and social progress. A democratic government is better placed to introduce reforms and broaden curriculum in madaris. It is a primary obligation of the government to invest requisite funds to ensure education of children. Current fiscal constraints should not be allowed to obstruct the imperative.