By NNN-APP,
London : Experts at a discussion highlighted the pivotal role of Pakistan in countering international terrorism, the consolidation of democracy at home, its close relations with Afghanistan and the need of the West to understand country’s security problems.
The day-long round table dialogue titled ‘Pakistan Perspectives: Strategic Challenges and Opportunities’ was organised by the Royal College of Defence Studies in conjunction with Advanced Research and Assessment Group at its premises.
Those who participated in the discussion were Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Mushahid Husain Syed, , former Army Chief General (ret) Jahangir Karamat, ex-Foreign Minister in the care-taker Government Inamul Haq and Foreign Office official Zamir Akram. Research Fellow Lesley Simms conducted the proceeding.
Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK Dr.Maleeha Lodhi, Deputy High Commissioner Abdul Basit, senior Chancery officials and former British High Commissioner to Pakistan Sir Hilary Synott were also present on the Monday occasion.
Opening the dialogue and speaking on the topic of ‘Transition to full democracy’, Senator Mushahid said the February 18 general election results proved the prophets of gloom and doom totally wrong.”
There was a smooth transition to power with the roles of Government and Opposition being reversed. On top of that, the results were accepted by all the stake holders.”
Terming 2007 as a rough ride for Pakistan, he pointed out the successive difficulties faced by the country starting with the issue of the Chief Justice of Pakistan Chaudhry Muhammad Iftikhar and culminating with the tragic assassination of PPP Chairperson Benazir Bhutto.
He said the polls showed a broad national consensus that Armed Forces should have no role in the national politics and the need to review and assess country’s position on the war on terror.
According to the Senator, the Arab factor in facilitating the return of Ms.Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif to Pakistan was also very noticeable. The voters, he said also opposed American policies in the region which has resulted in material and human losses to Pakistan.
Mushahid said world was now focussing on Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (FATA), but the region needs to tackled in a careful manner without damaging the country’s interest and the sensibilities of the people.
He saw an assertive Parliament with the Prime Minister in the driving seat and the role of the Presidency considerable reduced. Mushahid was optimistic about the consolidation of democracy in Pakistan and the coalition government completing its five-year term just like as its predecessor.
General (retd.) Karamat spoke on international terrorism and the existence of several such groups which are deemed to be involved in subversive activities both at the local and global level.
He said the transnational terrorism has also benefited from the advent of modern technology through the use of internet and similar other devices.
The former Army Chief said these groups have no loyalties with any country and are highly motivated towards their cause and therefore difficult to counter but on the other hand the state sponsorship of terrorism could be tackled through negotiations, sanctions and containment.
He spoke about the failure of the previous government policies in FATA but expressed hope that the new parliament and the coalition government would have better success in dealing with the given situation in the troubled border region.
General Karamat thought that USA policy in Afghanistan has also failed to yield the desired result and the country has been unsuccessful in dealing with Taliban and Al-Qaeda even after seven years in the landlocked country.
He underscored the importance of developing FATA for reducing the influence of Taliban and to wean the people away from extremist ideology. The retired General said Tribal people are still loyal to Pakistan but they require greater access to socio-economic needs.
Speaking on relations with Afghanistan, Zamir Akram,currently working as the Additional Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, said Pakistan desire friendly relations with its western neighbour for its own security strategy and supported the Bonn process which paved the way for ushering democracy in Afghanistan.
He mentioned Pakistan’s pivotal position in the region and as the bridgehead for access to various countries of the Central Asia.
Akram said due to radicalisation of the Tribal areas, the traditional influence f Jirgas and Maliks has broken down and the clerics have assumed greater influence. He said the presence of 1.3 million Afghan refugees was another source of worry for Pakistan as their presence remains a security problem in his country.
The FO official said USA had promised to provide assistance for the uplift of FATA but the funds are still stuck in the Congress. He said funds are needed to develop roads, hospitals, medical and educational facilities in the areas to remove the sense of deprivation among the people.
Inam ul Haq called for supporting democratic institutions in Pakistan. He regretted that West had never in the past encouraged democratic aspirations of the people of South Asian country.
Talking about Indo-Pakistan relations, he spoke about the dialogue process with India but regretted lack of movement towards conflict resolution. “CMBs have limited shelf life and there is now a need to shift from these confidence building measures to serious issues such as Kashmir, Siachen and water related matters.”
At the international level, Inam, currently Chairman of the Islamabad-based International Strategic and Security Institution, observed West’s current conflict of interest with the Muslim countries such as Iraq, Iran, Syria, Sudan , Somalia, and Afghanistan. He said Palestine and Kashmir still remain burning issues with little or no efforts by the West to help resolve them.
Declaring that terrorism has no place in Islam, he said it is being used by the political forces in the pursuance of their own interest and cited the recent examples of publication of blasphemous cartoons and a movie produced by a Dutch lawmaker.
Commenting on global warming, Inam said the developed countries at present account for the biggest percentage of greenhouse gas emissions in the world today, and yet it is the African and the third world countries who are suffering the most and unable to mitigate the changes.
Inam said USA has spent $ 6 trillion on its war efforts in Iraq which otherwise would have been utilised for the betterment of the mankind. He said there was a lack of knowledge about Islam in the West and it was capitalising on the distorted image of the religion.
He acknowledged that there had been no re-distribution of wealth in Pakistan and the gap between the rich and poor continues to widened.” Rich have consistently exploited the poor in Pakistan,” he said while underscoring the importance of resource allocation to the respective provinces in order to allay their fear of domination by the Centre.