PAKISTAN: SOME GOOD OPTIONS REMAIN

September 7, 2012

Conceived in the 1930s and born in the 40s, Pakistan means "Land of the Pure". What ever happened to that romantic ideal? How could it have all gone so terribly wrong? A day does not pass now without news from Pakistan that does not relate to violence, bigotry or corruption. Pakistan is now ranked at 145 on the Human Development Index, immediately followed by what was once East Pakistan, Bangladesh. Had the Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq, who was instrumental in creating the Index in 1990, still been alive today, this would not have come as a surprise to him, as Pakistan has been consistently on the lower end of the scale. What is surprising, though, is the seemingly unstoppable disintegration of this once promising nation. Pakistan is currently ranked at 13 on the Failed States Index.

Economic stability and internal security are of course crucial to Pakistan's survival, but even more importantly it desperately needs three things:

• Strong leadership
• Loyal allies
• Good neighbourly relations

It has none of these prerequisites, though they are not necessarily out of reach.

Leadership, the sine qua non element, is non-existent. One would need to identify a semblance of leadership in order to criticise it, but there's no chance of that at the moment. President Asif Ali Zardari is like Théoden, the King of Rohan, when under the influence of Saruman. It would seem as though only a powerful wizard could knock some sense into him now. His son, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who is already the Chairman of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), does have the potential of restoring the credibility of the Bhutto dynasty and the fortunes of Pakistan. He is being prepared for such a role, but he is only 23 and pushing him too far will only backfire, as the objections to his recent stint at the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Iran indicate. Zardari cannot wait. He either needs to take control or find someone who can.

As far as allies go, China is undoubtedly there, offering arms, and technical and financial support, as well as the occasional pat on the back; but whether it is loyal is another matter. Saruman springs to mind again. China appears to be upholding the status quo, when it knows full well that what Pakistan needs is the brutal honesty of a friend and a nudge in the right direction. Nevertheless, the chances are that China would still support Pakistan, even if it were more in control of its destiny.

America could have worked, but Pakistan has proved duplicitous in its dealings with it, taking vast sums of money from it with one hand and stabbing it in the back with the other. This week's US branding of the Haqqani network as a terrorist organisation, is a case in point. The US accuses Pakistan of supporting the Haqqani, who are linked with serious attacks in Afghanistan and international crime rings, in order to gain its own influence in Afghanistan. Pakistan's response was similar to the one it gave when blamed of supporting Lashkar-e-Taiba and the organisation's involvement in the 2008 Mumbai attacks: "Never!"... And again, in the first years of the millennium, when its nuclear "secrets" were finding their way to North Korea, Iran and Libya: "Never!"... The most ridiculous one of all, however, is the Osama Bin Laden case. Not only was he "hiding" under the nose of the military in the compound in Abbottabad, authorities had the audacity of sentencing Shakil Afridi, the doctor who allegedly helped the United States track him down, to 33 years in prison for high treason. And this week, Pakistan has ordered the NGO Save the Children out of the country for the same reason... So much for supporting the Americans in their war on terror. Not to mention the tragedy of all the Pakistani soldiers killed as pawns in order to uphold the charade. This is where Pakistani authorities really need to do an examination of conscience and come clean. It can be done.

Then we come to neighbourly relations. The first thing Pakistan should do is close its borders with Afghanistan (within reason, of course). Islamabad has enough problems of its own; it does not need to go foraging for more. As for the opium, it is a corruption-fuelling curse, not a solution. Assuming Pakistan were willing to start thinking creatively, China could easily help fill in the gap with legitimate entrepreneurial projects.

Finally Pakistan would do well to turn around and shake hands with its estranged sibling, India. There it will find a whole new world of opportunities. Even today, the Indian External Affairs Minister, SM Krishna, who is on a state visit to Islamabad, confirmed India's good intentions:

"I wish to reiterate the desire of India to see a stable and prosperous Pakistan living in peace with itself and the world. That would be in the best interest of everyone."

Indeed it would.