Strategic Options
It was not comfortable being either an American or a Pakistani, for widely differing reasons, in Davos this year. The World Economic Forum (WEF) is normally a love-fest, antagonism is almost never aired in the aura of optimism that is normally prevalent. Because of the aversion of most Europeans towards war in Iraq, Americans (constituting a fair percentage of the 1500 persons attending WEF) found themselves in defensive mode even though the much-respected US Secretary of State Colin Powell made an eloquent case for war to topple Saddam Hussain. While one is used to Indians reacting in an offensively defensive manner to our bringing Kashmir on the table, this year the Indians took a back seat orchestrating a world consensus against Pakistan’s very existence as a responsible member of the comity of nations. Speaker after speaker recommended coordinated action against Pakistan’s nuclear potential, there was no fig leaf of innuendo anymore. The straightforward allegation put us in the business of exporting terrorism. The general consensus was that Pakistan’s nuclear facilities were a potential threat to the world, the premise being that if Musharraf was overthrown, the 650000-man Pakistan Army would be overwhelmed by “200000 dedicated Jehadis”. Instead of waiting to be subjected to “nuclear terrorism” their convoluted logic was that the world would be far better off launching a pre-emptive strike against Pakistan, even in priority to Iraq! These were no ordinary persons, they happen to be the world’s top leaders in government, business, academics, etc the elite of the elite! More depressing was to see the blissful ignorance we are living in on returning from Davos. This country is in a state of permanent Basant, God help us!
A Breathing Space
A year after celebrating our 50th year as an independent country, we desperately need a breathing space. The last three months beginning May 11, the day of the Indian nuclear blasts, has been a period of successive crisis. Locked into a no-win situation we had no option in the face of blatant Indian intransigency but to react, despite the dire warnings of the west laced with incentives, on May 28 we did. Whereas the sanctions imposed against India were at best a mockery of intention, in relative terms the strict enforcement against Pakistan is a travesty of justice. We have lurched from a serious geo-political crisis to an economic meltdown but none so potent a disaster as the erosion of national unity because of the nefarious exploitation of the Kalabagh Dam issue.