Source/Credit: Daily Dawn | Op/Ed
By Ali Sarwar Naqvi | August 7, 2011
AS has happened several times in the past, Pakistan is facing international isolation once again. Somehow we land ourselves in a situation ever so often where we are on one side and the rest of the world is on the other. Four instances from our history illustrate the point.
First, military action in the then East Pakistan when we thought we were right and the rest of the world thought that we were wrong.
Second, the execution of an elected prime minister, deposed by extra-constitutional action. Again the world appealed to our leadership not to take the dire step, but we did.
Third, the recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan; when the rest of the world, except for two countries, shunned it, we recognised it.
Fourth, our military adventure in Kargil, which was considered by the rest of the world as irresponsible and likely to provoke war, was covered up by the government of the day. The result in each episode was international isolation, which took us a long time to get out of.
We are again facing international isolation as Pakistan is seen condoning, even supporting, militant extremism. The world saw us as giving a muted, even shockingly favourable, public reaction to the killing of Salmaan Taseer and later an ambiguous one to the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti. This was followed by the US action against Osama bin Laden where we chose to invoke our sovereignty rather than express satisfaction at the death of the leader of international terrorism.
The world is unable to comprehend why we cannot take a clear position regarding domestic and international terrorism. The international community has developed the perception that Pakistan is a country that tolerates, perhaps even encourages, terrorists and armed marauders to run riot all over the country, that it allows them safe havens, and that Pakistan is thus the most dangerous country in the world. As a result, no country worth the name now wishes to do business with us, allow our students, or our professionals and academics, or our visitors and tourists to enter its territory. Likewise, outsiders avoid coming to Pakistan.
Actually, this isolation is not entirely due to the terrorism problem, even though that is the main issue. There are other reasons which lie beneath the principal concern. Pakistan has been earning a negative perception since some time now. For years, Pakistanis have been found involved in drug trafficking, human smuggling and transnational crime.
Our exporters are often believed to resort to deception in trade, shipping substandard products after winning a market with initial supply of quality products. They fail to meet supply deadlines and are found short of abiding by commitments made.
There are also perceptions that a number of Pakistanis tend to be arrogant and self-righteous. I was recently told of a story of a Pakistani’s interaction with a Chinese engineer working in a remote part of the country, who became friends with a Pakistani engineer working with him. One day the Chinese engineer said to the Pakistani, “Do you know why I like you?” Quite perplexed the Pakistani asked “Why?” The Chinese replied: “For two reasons, one, you have not tried to convert me to Islam, and two, you do not try to correct my English.”
The terrorism and violence emanating from Pakistani territory seems to be the proverbial last straw that may break the camel’s back. Many terrorist incidents, starting with the London Underground attack and the infamous Mumbai attacks in 2008 among others, were found to have a Pakistani connection or suspected of one. We have become the prime exporter of terrorism abroad, as well as its hapless victims at home. No wonder we are facing international isolation, and one which is far worse than we have ever experienced before.
In the decade that ended last year, our region has generally witnessed unprecedented economic growth and development.
The two biggest countries in our neighbourhood have registered high growth rates of eight to nine per cent of GDP all through the decade. Pakistan initially did almost as well, but towards the latter part of the decade, it slipped to the low digits of the growth figure.
The cumulative effect of its unsatisfactory dealings with the outside world, compounded by homegrown and home-bred militant movements that have mushroomed all over the country, from Karachi to Peshawar and the tribal areas, have more or less destroyed whatever credit Pakistan had enjoyed internationally. So while economic prosperity has come to the rest of the region, which includes, besides India and China, even Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, Pakistan is wallowing in the odium of shame and disgrace.
While we have overcome our isolation in the past after suffering ostracism by the international community for some time, the situation seems to be far more serious this time round. Our problem is that we are no longer seen as a normal state, and as prone to deviating in the wrong direction.
It is just not the United States that harbours a negative perception about us, it is almost the whole world that is becoming wary of us.
And the solution, though appearing difficult at first sight, is also very simple. We can put aside the other problems for the time being and concentrate on only one for the moment — the elimination and eradication of terrorism — to overcome this debilitating isolation.
The writer is a former ambassador.
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