WASHINGTON: The AF-PAK policy seems to
signal one-size-fits-all approach but Pakistan and
Afghanistan have vastly different histories,
different capabilities, and different kinds of
security challenges.
These remarks were made by
former Pakistani ambassador to U.S. and U.K., Dr.
Maleeha Lodhi, while presenting her analysis on
“Pakistan Security Challenges: Implications of the
AF-PAK Strategy” at the United States Institute of
Peace in Washington, D.C., on July 22.
She was of the view that
policies are formed to fit complex realities not the
other way around. The former ambassador warned that
the policy and the acronym (AF-PAK) itself can lead
to a perilous consequence. “It will tend to treat
Pakistan as a function of Afghanistan,” she said.
Dr. Maleeha Lodhi remarked that
subordinating the bilateral Pak- U.S. equation to a
tri-lateralized policy will inadvertently and
unintentionally erode bilateral relations between
Pakistan and the U.S.
To a question about Pakistan’s
threat perception she said, “Perceptions about
security are like beauty. They lie in the eyes of
the beholder.” She regretted that Pakistan-India
dialogue was disrupted and emphasized that the
composite dialogue should not be attached to any one
condition.
Commenting on Pakistan’s
domestic problems she told the gathering that the
country needs a resolute leadership that could stand
up and show a ray of hope to the people as far as
problems are concerned. “I’m concerned that the
present leadership doesn’t quite have that. And I
think it’s no coincidence that former prime minister
Nawaz Sharif happens to be the most popular man in
Pakistan today. That is more of a statement on
people in office perhaps.”
She suggested that Pakistan
needs somebody with political vision. “Somebody who
could unite not divide the people. Somebody who is
not personally controversial. Somebody who could
work on civil-military equation in Pakistan in a
stable and predictable manner.”
Referring to predictions about
Pakistan’s future, Dr. Maleeha Lodhi remarked that
the country needed national self-confidence and
added that the doomsday scenarios like “you’re about
to implode, you are about to collapse, this is it
it’s all over,” are no help.
She said no doubt the country
had crises along the way but it defied all the odds.
“This is a country that has a much stronger society
today than in the past.”
Referring to the
counterinsurgency, Dr. Maleeha was of the view that
it has to be done by local actors.
“Counterinsurgency is not a joystick war. It
is not something that you do in a robotic manner.”
