15.05.2013 Foreign policy challenges
Now that the PML-N is ready to assume power, it will have to tread carefully with respect to foreign policy. In particular, while resetting relations with India and the US, the new government will have to tread a cautious path, taking into consideration the strategic worldview, and the traditional mindset in policymaking circles around which our foreign policy has generally revolved.
Nawaz Sharif’s position on India is well known and he has reiterated it time and again. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s invitation to him to visit India is significant, as is the reciprocal invitation by the prime minister-elect to Mr Singh for his oath-taking ceremony. But the dialogue process between the two countries is likely to be fraught with the known roadblocks: Pakistan’s insistence on the core issues and India’s emphasis on terrorism. Having said this, Mr Sharif finds himself in a historic position to consolidate the gains made by the outgoing government with respect to trade and visa liberalisation.
With regard to the US, the PML-N manifesto emphasises Pakistani sovereignty and national interest when it comes to ties with the superpower. The PML-N is on record to have opposed the drones. Thus, its hardest task will be handling the drone debate, and developing a clear, honest line on the issue. The Nato troops pullout from Afghanistan in 2014 will place Pakistan in a tight corner. This would be a consummate test of Mr Sharif’s leadership skills. While he has indicated close but reoriented ties with the US, it is hard to see how things can improve given our dependence on US aid.
The greatest foreign policy challenge for Mr Sharif would be Afghanistan. Despite President Hamid Karzai’s welcoming statement at the PML-N victory, tensions are likely to exist as US troops pull out and the Taliban gain momentum, particularly with help from groups operating in Pakistan’s border territories. It must be mentioned that the PML-N’s foreign policy is likely to be intertwined with domestic policy on dealing with extremism and the impunity with which militant groups allegedly operate inside Pakistan. There was never a greater need for effective linkages between the two, especially with regard to Afghanistan. Mr Sharif’s ascension to power comes at the right moment.
Education emergency
According to Unicef, 17.6 per cent of Pakistani children are working and supporting their families instead of going to school. While affordability is an issue, a lot of girls do not go to school because of lack of basic facilities like separate toilets. The South Asian Forum for Education Development’s (SAFED’s) Annual Status of Education Report 2012 says that 23 per cent of all school-age children, predominantly girls in rural areas, are still out of school.
There are noticeable differences in gender literacy and in the level of literacy in different parts of Pakistan. This is a cause for worry. It is extremely important to educate the girl child because no education policy can work efficiently without gender balance. The government should know that the reason developed societies have made progress is because they realised the worth of education and gender equality. As it is, Pakistan is struggling with its literacy rate. Add to it, lack of gender equality in the education sector and we are doomed.
Pakistan’s education sector has been given inadequate budget allocations in the last many decades. Now that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is all set to form the next government, it must make headway in education reforms by allocating more money to the education sector and taking the issue of girls’ education quite seriously. Since the provision of quality education has not been on any government’s priority list, the education system stands compartmentalised into private and public education. This has resulted in a class-based society despite the fact that education has always figured prominently in the manifestos of every political party. It is hoped that the PML-N will ensure quality education across the country. The next government also needs to address the issue of child labour, which is a result of the poor economic conditions of the country. The government should take concrete steps to ensure equitable distribution of wealth and provide quality education to all and sundry.