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20Eternal India, June 2009

Insight: Ideology

tlantic Council, avery powerfulthink tank of theUSA, published a reportunderthe title of

AComprehensive Policy for Pakistan

in February 2009.The report received notonly wide coverage in themedia, but was also largelyacted upon by the USadministration and thedonorcountries who metin Tokyo last month to

extend required financial assistance to Pakistan tohelp it recover from the present crisis.Aperusal of the Atlantic Council report showsthat in studying the crisis in Pakistan, theyhave taken several other background factorsinto consideration but while formulating their recommendations to overcome the crisis theyhave mainly focused on the recipe of economicassistance.The gravity of the crisis has been repeatedlyemphasized in the report, and urgent remedialaction recommended. The enormity of the threatcan be appreciated from the fact that the 44-pagereport has used word ‘urgent’more than ten times.

Pakistan: Victim of Its Own Ideology

Arif Mohammed Khan*

The crisis Pakistan is facing today is not essentially rooted in bad economic policies or poor fiscal management. Pakistan isa victim of its own ideology that seeks to discriminate againstits own citizens on the ground of religion and keep thecountry divided internally. Today, Pakistan does not have asizeable non-Muslim population and there is no explanationas to what happened to the vanishing millions. However, theintolerant radical mindset has become so strong that nowPakistan is witness to an all-out war among various Muslimsects, which does not spare even the mosques, where Fridaycongregational prayers can be conducted peacefully onlyunder military cover. The author contends that the deep-rooted hatred and animosity against India that springs fromPakistan ideology has distorted its worldview and does notallow it to see things in proper perspective.

*Arif Mohammed Khan is a former Union Cabinet Minister.

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The report says that “the Pakistangovernment has between 6 to 12 monthsto put in place and implement securityand economic policies or face the veryreal prospect of considerable domesticand political turbulence”. The recentrioting in several Pakistani towns onaccount of shortage of food and energyhas been cited to underline the need totake immediate corrective steps. It saysthat the “time available to do the job of turning around the economy and polityis months not years and therequirements of Pakistan if it is tosucceed is assessed to be much greater than the assistance it is receiving now”.The salient features of the report areas following:1. The raging militancy inside Pakistanis threatening not only the stability of both Afghanistan and Pakistan but of the whole South Asia region, particularly India where the terroristscarried out an attack in November 2008. The dire threats to the securityand economy of Pakistan have put itsexistence as a democratic and stableState in peril.2. But the report has shown confidencein the manpower and infrastructuralcapability of Pakistan to turn thecorner, provided it is helped withnecessary tools and financingurgently. The immediate support andassistance from internationalcommunity in general and the UnitedStates in particular can help Pakistanturn back from the brink. The reporthas further underlined that a secure,stable and prospering Pakistan is inthe best interests of the internationalcommunity.3. While pleading for early and effectiveassistance the report also emphasizesthat the assistance needs to be basedon ‘focused policy changes anddisciplined implementation by thePakistan government, with adequateoversight to ensure that Pakistan cando the job’.4. Specifically, the report has recomm-ended a “total of $4-5 billion abovethe (Biden)-Kerry-Lugar proposals”and out of this, about $3 billion areearmarked for the economic andsocial sectors directly. For securityforces, both military and lawenforcement, about $1 billion areearmarked and it has been proposedto utilise at least 20 per cent of these

“The raging militancy insidePakistan is threatening not onlythe stability of both Afghanistanand Pakistan but of the wholeSouth Asia region, particularlyIndia where the terroristscarried out an attack inNovember2008.”

Insight: Ideology

Eternal India, June 2009 21

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Insight: Ideology

22Eternal India, June 2009

funds for training and deployment of an additional 15,000 police forcewithin the next six months.5. The report cites Pakistan PresidentAsif Ali Zardari as saying that “we(meaning Pakistan and the USAand NATO) are losing the battle to keepPakistan stable, peaceful and prosperous”. The report has alsoquoted a senior military office assaying that “if Pakistan fails, theworld fails”.6. Pakistan is described as a ‘countryunder siege’, shaken by terror incidents like 2008 bombing of Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, attack on anti-terror Police Headquartersand the upsurge in suicide and bombattacks. The country has almost lostcontrol of the border city of Peshawar and Swat is slipping intothe hands of militants. Theencounters between the militants andmilitary are costly in terms of loss of life and rising number of refugeeswho have become uprooted fromtheir areas.7. The report has mentioned the hostility between Pakistan and India at morethan one place. It recognises the needon the part of Pakistan to take moreeffective action against terroristsoperating from its soil and directingtheir attacks against India. At thesame time, it has said that the Indianreactions to the Mumbai attack hasreinforced the Pakistan Army’straditional view of India as a major threat and detracts them from the battle against the insurgents and thisexplains the posting of substantial portion of the Pakistan Army on itsEastern border. This is despitethe publicly stated view of Director General of Inter-ServicesIntelligence that “terrorism and notIndia is the main threat today”.8. The report gives expression to seriousconcern about the security of nuclear weapons in the face of the surge of the radical religious extremists. Itsays that contrary to the feeling of the senior officials, many Americans,including members of the Congress,have apprehensions and wantreassurance, if not proof of their safestorage. They equally feel concernedabout the transport of stored nuclear

The Atlantic Council report citesPakistan President Asif AliZardari as saying that “we(meaning Pakistan and the USAand NATO) are losing the battleto keep Pakistan stable, peacefuland prosperous”. The report hasalso quoted a seniormilitaryoffice as saying that “if Pakistanfails, the world fails”.

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