Improving ties
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
In an interview with an Indian news channel a day after presenting his credentials to the Indian president, Salman Bashir, the new high commissioner to India, has said that “the atmospherics have witnessed a sea change” in the relationship between Pakistan and India. Mr Bashir may well be right and in a relationship as fraught and contentious as the one between the two South Asian neighbours ‘atmospherics’ are nothing to be scoffed at. However, there is a sense that rather than Mr Bashir’s upbeat assessment, the relationship is drifting again. Trade negotiations have been bogged down in minutiae, a more liberal visa regime has seemingly been stalled and there’s next to nothing to show on the fiendishly more difficult fronts: Kashmir, Siachen and terrorism.
Perhaps what can reinvigorate the push for normalisation of ties between India and Pakistan is the much talked about but never quite near enough visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan. Intransigence and stubbornness of the security and foreign-policy establishments on both sides is almost a given, so it comes down to finding someone who can rise about the calcified and ossified positions of old and drag ties forward. Throughout his tenure as prime minister, Mr Singh has appeared to be the man who could possibly make it happen — but time is running out. Weakened domestically and unable to find a partner in Pakistan who is willing to meet him half way, the space for Prime Minister Singh to manoeuvre on Pakistan has certainly diminished a great deal. Here on the Pakistani side, the demand for ‘progress on all fronts’ has been wielded as a soft veto by the army-led security establishment on improving trade and visa relations. The thought behind that may well be that when Pakistan first signalled its intention to move ahead on certain subjects, it hoped that India would reciprocate by offering talks and the hope of stepping back from rigid Indian positions on other subjects. But then the Indian side appeared to want to keep the focus of the talks narrow and Pakistan’s interest diminished.
Certainly, from the Indian side, the shadow of the Mumbai attacks still lingers and a significant gesture from Pakistan — expediting the trial of the suspects here perhaps — is yet to come. The weight of history means that both sides have a thousand and one reasons to not genuinely seek a full peace with one another. So officials like Prime Minister Singh, so obviously and so genuinely interested in peace with Pakistan, do not come about often. He should follow his instinct. Roll the dice: visit Pakistan. Of such gestures is history sometimes made.
Lobbying and image
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Fourteen telephone calls and 15 meetings: this is part of the six months of activity an American lobbying firm did for Pakistan. The firm is paid $75,000 a month to advance Pakistan’s cause and stem the downhill slide of its image. As a report by our diplomatic correspondent points out, despite the nearly one million dollars given annually to the firm, Pakistan’s image has earned it few admirers. There is a long list of reasons why the American public has developed the kind of view it has about this country. Islamabad’s role in the war on terror, the post-Salala confrontation and the army’s covert relationship with the Haqqani militia have merely contributed to an image that has been negative for quite some time because of Pakistan’s domestic scene bordering on anarchy. It is not a question of an incident here and there; it is decades of political chaos and extremist violence which have given Pakistan the stamp of an abnormal country.
A country’s image is not created overnight, nor can lobbyists succeed in their job when the news emanating from the country shows perpetual chaos, a constant perversion of constitutional and legal processes, sectarian violence, unabashed persecution of women and minorities, massive financial scams, a horrendous level of xenophobic violence that deters foreign tourists and investment, the purported misuse and waste of foreign aid, and above all, a corrupt elite that is perceived to be indifferent to national interests. In such a scenario, lobbyists can do little to earn their keep. A country’s image is built at home, not abroad, for it stems from the kind of message a nation gives to the world by collective behaviour and by its commitment to principles universally shared. The lobbying firm may win over a couple of congressmen or journalists willing to listen, but this will be a poor substitute for what the people of Pakistan themselves and their leaders can and should do to reverse the image. A stable, democratic and peaceful Pakistan will in itself constitute an image that would hardly need lobbying.
Wedding rush
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
It's wedding season in Mirpur and love has only a little to do with it. The town in Pakistan-administered Kashmir best known for its migrant population in the UK is racing against the clock to beat a deadline for changes in British immigration laws. As reported in this paper, people rushed to book places in crash courses in English while immigration consultants in the town also saw brisk business in the run-up to the July 6 deadline, after which the new laws were to take effect. Needless to say, those in the wedding industry were also quite busy, as couples tied the knot in droves. The reason for these speedy weddings and associated frenzied activity is that as per the new rules, the minimum income ceiling has been raised for Britons wishing to bring foreign spouses to the UK, while foreign nationals wishing to marry British partners will also be required to pass an English proficiency test. The rush to secure a coveted British visa has also reportedly caused delays at the British High Commission in Islamabad.
The hasty weddings show how globalised the world has become, when changes in British laws can have such an impact thousands of miles away in Mirpur, which has seen many locals settled in Britain return to invest and marry in their ancestral hometown. This particular development also illustrates the strength of global networks and how people use these for upward mobility. While people in developing countries such as Pakistan have always sought greener pastures in the First World, the current dismal economic and law and order situation in this country has only strengthened people’s urge to flee. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that many Pakistanis will grab the first opportunity to settle abroad should it become available, both through legal means and otherwise. That is a sobering thought.