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ISLAMABAD, Oct 29: Japan has a keen interest in seeing a democratic transition in Pakistan which will have a positive bearing on the Japanese assistance to the country, says the outgoing Japanese ambassador, Sadaaki Numata.
“When Japan extends official assistance it takes into account the situation in the recipient country regarding weapons of mass destruction and efforts towards democratization,” said Mr Numata, whose tenure ends this month.
“We would like to see people of Pakistan realize the vision of Pakistan’s founder, Quaid-i-Azam, of a modern, moderate, progressive, democratic Islamic state,” noted the outgoing ambassador, adding, “we will encourage Islamabad in that direction.”
In an exclusive interview with Dawn before his departure, Mr Numata spoke candidly on issues ranging from the challenges facing Pakistan to the roadblocks that impede Japanese investment in the country to the prospects of bilateral ties.
Challenges for Pak: Mr Numata believes that Pakistan faces challenges on three fronts: One, its tension with India; two, the threat of terrorism emanating from remnants of Al Qaeda, Jihadis and the sectarian groups; and three, the economic, social and political problems.
Noting that these challenges were enormous, he emphasised that Pakistan needs to chart the course by which these challenges can be tackled. He underlined the importance of good governance and political transformation to address these challenges. “The government has to function,” he observed.
Ambassador Numata was of the view that fostering, training and mobilizing its human resources and improving its industrial structure were among the major challenges that Pakistan faced. Narrowing the vast disparity between the rich and the poor, specially in the rural areas, he stressed on required fundamental structural changes. Education, he observed, was the key to meeting these challenges.
The two-and-a-half years of intense interaction with the Pakistan government makes his countrymen believe that Islamabad is very seriously trying to grapple with the multiple challenges. “Reform has been the key word and the plan of reform is being implemented but it needs to be sustained,” he said.
PAKISTAN-INDIA TIES: Mr Numata hoped that the two South Asian neighbours will be mending fences in the coming days. He acknowledged the complexity of the problem that for most Pakistanis is an issue linked to the fundamental concept of Pakistan as a state. However, he said the question of Kashmir was taking a very heavy toll on Pakistan and its people because of the heavy involvement of the military in the issue. He regretted that the country’s military budget far exceeded the development expenditure.
The ambassador said Japan and other members of the international community had been urging India and Pakistan to resolve their issues through dialogue. However, he pointed out that Japan for its part had been putting an equal emphasis on de-escalation and resumption of dialogue. “We are aware that simply de-escalating the tension would bring you back to where you were before December last.”
Asked what could be done in a situation where a dialogue between the two sides does not seem to come through, he said: “What you should not do is to try to resolve it by force in any event.” He said the international community had been far more engaged in the region and would continue to urge both sides to sit down and talk about issues.
“You can bring the horse to the river but how do you force the it to drink the water. But before this can happen military de-escalation is very important. You cannot have a million troops from both sides sitting eyeball to eyeball.”
He agreed that the Kashmir dispute had been internationalized and there was recognition that there could be no peace in South Asia unless this core issue was resolved
Trade and Investment: Ambassador Numata attributed the rather insignificant growth of Japanese trade and investment to the negative images of Pakistan flashed on major television networks like CNN and BBC. “Images like the nuclear-tests, military takeover and bombings affect investor psychology,” he said. He emphasized that a degree of predictability and stability were very important to investors. “Those who want to invest in a country want to have a reasonable idea of the direction the country is going.”
Better understanding of Pakistan could translate into enhanced investment in the country though not immediately, he maintained.
Referring to the economic, political and social transformation he said: “It is very important for our people, including investors, that Pakistan proceeds in the right direction. They would feel more encouraged and motivated to help and invest in Pakistan.”
The outgoing Japanese envoy, whose main concern and occupation since his arrival in Pakistan has been to shorten the psychological distance between the two countries, leaves with some satisfaction.
“I am leaving with some sense of satisfaction that the Japanese people are beginning to understand Pakistan better. He believes that 9/11 was instrumental as Japanese people saw images of Pakistan joining the coalition against terrorism. “The pre- dominant message has changed and the negative perceptions about Pakistan are gradually fading away,” he observed.
Ambassador Numata pointed out that of the 1500 foreign journalists, who travelled to Pakistan and reported out of here after 9/11, more than 10 per cent were Japanese. “That contributed to a far better understanding among the Japanese people of the very difficult fight in which Pakistan finds itself as a frontline state.” Before 9/11 there was only one bureau of Japanese news agency in Pakistan and today there are five bureaus of Japanese media, including NHK, he added. Some 50 members of the Japanese parliament have visited Pakistan between 9/11, which is also very significant.
Future Prospects: Mr Numata said Japan would continue to help Pakistan in poverty reduction, industrial, agriculture and education sectors. Although he hinted that a democratic government would improve chances of economic cooperation, he made it amply clear that Pakistan-Japan relations cannot go back to the pre-1998 status when Pakistan had not yet conducted nuclear tests.
“We can’t go back to pre-1998 situation where Japan was pouring millions of dollars of assistance to Pakistan,” he said.
“Our concern is not just about CTBT, it is also about the threat of terrorism, about peace and stability in South Asia,” he hastened to add. In future, Mr Numata would like to see more of a strategic dialogue between Japan and Pakistan. “I would like to see a more policy-oriented dialogue, not just how much money Japan will give,” he said.
While he believed the intense interaction between the two governments over the past one year had further improved ties between the two countries and post-9/11 events had led to better recognition of the problems and dilemmas faced by Pakistan, the ambassador saw no room for complacency. “A beginning has been made but there is still a lot more to be done,” noted the eloquent ambassador whose role has been central to this beginning.
Highpoint: Professionally, Ambassador Sadaaki Numata said, the highpoint for him has been the Japanese Prime Minister’s visit to Pakistan five month after his arrival in Islamabad and later the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to Japan in March this year.
What has been particularly gratifying for the outgoing envoy is to have seen that Japanese grassroots assistance (GRA) in a village in Hunza has had very visible and positive signs of physical and, more importantly, social development. Revisiting the village this year, two years after extending the assistance, he saw many happy faces. “The village was much cleaner and people were smiling,” he said. When he went to the village square with his wife they discovered that all the girls and women, mothers and grandmothers had gathered there and much to their surprise they wanted his wife to speak first!
The Japanese ambassador will treasure most the richness and diversity of Pakistan’s landscape and its people and miss many friends he made during his stay in Pakistan.
