DAWN 15-12-2011

IF Pakistan`s foreign policy — in the current context the country`s ties with the US — is a mirror image of its internal needs and aspirations, it took the government quite long to call in its envoys for a review of its interaction with the outside world. On the popular level, the demand for revising the policy had existed long before the Nov 26 Nato attack on Pakistani posts last month. Officially, the need was felt only after Islamabad and GHQ decided that the US had gone too far in attacking Pakistani territory. The ambassadors have given their recommendations. These will be discussed by parliament in an in camera session. Parliament is ultimately going to provide the `new policy` with an official seal.

Critics have reason enough to pull up the Gilani government for shrouding the debate about the revisions in policy and its outcome in secrecy. However, it is also important to identify those who were responsible for making the covert deals with the US in the first place. The deals now under review were entered into by the Musharraf regime, and it is ironical that the military should now want the same agreements to be appraised. While we believe that all such agreements should be transparent, we also hope that all stakeholders are on board in the final decision to endorse, or suggest changes to, these recommendations, and that there is no pressure of any kind on the civilian government from any quarter.

There is considerable truth to the assertion that the sudden urge for a review of foreign policy is rooted in long years of abject submission to the interests of the outside world. On the other hand, it is also true that Pakistan has been unable to do what it has repeatedly promised the international community — not only on the terror front but also in other areas such as the economy. This has brought it into conflict with the same powers whose favour it was compelled to seek. The envoys` conference was tasked with restoring the critical balance and restoring to Pakistan the position of a responsible state, one that is able to honour its pledges to the outside world, especially in contributing to the battle against militancy and poverty, while safeguarding its national interests. In the case of a state that suspects easily and is suspected universally, this becomes hard to achieve. It is about time Pakistan pragmatically viewed its failures and successes with the international community and formulated its foreign policy accordingly. Even in the face of angry public sentiment it must act maturely.