By Sankar Ray
The much fanfare with which the Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan Niazi announced the 100-page long maiden National Security Policy 2022-2066 meets with both bouquets and brickbats. It was okayed by the miltablishment prior to nod by the cabinet as the PM revealed the ‘civil military consensus around ‘a citizen-centric framework, placing economic security at its core. The statement, drew appreciation from the democracy-yearning intelligentsia but the skeptics point out the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf government’s appeasement towards the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan which has heightened in the tribal belt in northwest Pakistan, its former stronghold, and in the restive south western province of Balochistan. Furthermore, transparency dogs the Pak media-hyped NSP as the major part of the document is reportedly classified Critics also mention of silence about the final settlement of the Kashmir issue.
Keeping up his has habitual verbiage, King Khan stressed “The concept we have now brought to Pakistan is to make sure of the uplift of the vulnerable segment,” but seasoned politicians in Islamabad think that Islamabad wants to keep the chief international donor, the International Monetary Fund in good humour The PM has made no bones of the reality that Pakistan needed to have inclusive growth but at the same time mentions compulsions to acquire loans from institutions like IMF.. The IMF has already warned the Imran govt of its failures to reduce the level of inequality.
There is a feel that religious bigotry thrives on the increasingly poorer youths who are roped in by terrorists, including the TTP which has been carrying on its terrorist activities in the tribal belt in northwest Pakistan, its former stronghold, and in the restive south western province of Balochistan. They use light arms, mortars, and homemade improvised explosives devices (IEDs), has obtained modern weapons. That includes, the U.S.-made M16 machine guns and M4 assault rifles fitted with night vision, according to sources in international intelligence agencies operating in south Asian region. The Pakistani Taliban outfit sends a signal to Islamabad that it is negotiating from a position of strength and among its targets are Pakistani security forces as a part of a global jihadist narrative, states Abdul Basit, a Pakistani counterterrorism and security expert.
During the last two decades, Pakistan has been in the eye of the storm: the centre of religious extremism, terror and bigotry. More than 80,000 innocent Pakistanis were victims of the dark and sinister forces of religious fanaticism and the mad irrational race to impose a particular form of religious dictatorship on the country. That apart, at least 8,000 men in uniform were involuntary victims of religious extremism. I
The PM Prime Minister Imran Khan recently organised a dialogue on “Islam, Society and Ethical Values,” in the presence of several eminent Muslim scholars abroad under the aegis of the newly set-up Rehmatul-Lil-Aalameen Authority. Among the participants were George Washington University, Islamic Studies Professor Dr. SeyyedHossein Nasir, Zaytun College President Hamza Yousuf, Cambridge Muslim College Dean Dr. Timothy Winter, Malaysian thinker Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, University of Malaya and Ibn Haldun University, Turkey Rector Dr Recep Senturk, and UAE Fatwa Council Chairman Abdullah bin Bayyah. They had reportedly warned Islamabad of lenience towards TTP. The premier admitted that that corruption and sex crimes are the main social evils in the Muslim world and emphasized the imperative for combating these evils internationally.
Imran khan is on the horns of a dilemma that engulfs the Pakistani polity. He has to listen to IMF’s financial diktat. “If you have to go to the IMF after some time, it means that your security will be affected, because we have never had the concept of joint national security”, he argued, Never in the past, the perception of ‘how to protect ourselves, the growth rate was increasing, the current account deficit was increasing, which put pressure on the rupee and we had to go to the IMF,” he added..
Prime Minister also said “whenever they go to the IMF, they are compelled because as a last resort, only the IMF helper is left, which gives the cheapest loan. “But to get a loan from the IMF, you have to accept their terms and when you accept the terms, there is a security compromise somewhere; which does not have to be the security forces, but it means you have to put the burden on your people and the biggest security is that the people stand with you,” he argued.
However, how the civilian- army equation implements the ambitious NSP criss-crossing many hurdles and imponderables. has to be seen.. This includes greater trade with India. In his keynote address, explaining the objectives of NSP, Khan said that it would concentrate on the government’s vision ensuring the security of its citizens prioritising national cohesion and the prosperity of people, simultaneously guaranteeing fundamental rights and social justice without discrimination. He didn’t miss wooing the military top brass, “Our armed forces are our pride and glue the nation together. Given the threats we face in the region, and the growing threat of hybrid warfare, they will continue to receive even greater support and importance”. (IPA Service)