IN the last week of July a conference of Pakistan’s envoys, stationed in 20 key capitals of the world, was held in Islamabad with a view to reviewing the foreign policy and making it more vibrant and effective to respond to the new challenges, emerging in quick succession, particularly after 9/11.

The conference was of special significance as it was held in the wake of President Pervez Musharraf’s visit to the United States where he had a one-on-one meeting with President George W Bush at Camp David, the details of which have probably not been made public owing to diplomatic intricacies.

While inaugurating the conference, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali stated that his government had ensured continuity of Pakistan’s foreign and economic policies that had enhanced country’s influence and prestige abroad and stimulated its economic growth. This statement unmistakably conveyed an impression that Pakistan’s existing foreign policy was adequately effective and did not warrant any radical change in it.

Many people tend to believe that this conference, apparently called to make a deeper evaluation of the existing foreign policy, was actually aimed at seeking its endorsement by the envoys in view of the growing criticism against some of its aspects, particularly the recent controversial moves of sending troops to Iraq and recognition of Israel. President Pervez Musharraf’s own statements highly appreciating the present foreign policy of the country also confirm this impression.

Pakistan relies heavily on its foreign policy to promote and protect its national interests. In the foreseeable future it will continue to face daunting diplomatic challenges in international arena and, therefore, foreign policy will continue to be of crucial importance to it. It was, therefore, but natural that its foreign policy was reviewed, from time to time, and revamp it, in the light of fast changing developments, to make it viable and result-oriented. An outmoded or flawed foreign policy may cost it dearly and cause incalculable harm to its national objectives abroad.

There is a consensus that Pakistan’s existing foreign policy has, by and large, served the country’s overall interests well. However, there are some grey areas, too, which ought to be identified and remedial measures taken to make the current policy more effective. The traditional forms of diplomacy have already been strengthened by a more pragmatic approach. But unless Pakistan makes necessary adjustments in its foreign policy objectives, it would not be able to meet the new challenges of international diplomacy.

Regrettably, Pakistan’s foreign policy makers have been consistently ignoring the fact that in the contemporary world it is the economic aspect that has become an important component of foreign policy and that economic strength of a nation was the key to its success. They remained obsessed with the notion that economic considerations should not be allowed to unnecessarily influence or mar political objectives of the foreign policy. Consequently, in the international economic competition, our foreign policy hardly played any significant role in bringing about any economic gains for the country and, at best, it remained only marginal.

There is, therefore, a dire need to reverse this trend and make an earnest effort to make up for the missed opportunities and to try to achieve Pakistan’s economic goals by strongly pursuing an active economic diplomacy. Some people argue that the diplomatic officers may not be able to effectively manage result-oriented economic diplomacy. These are wrong assumptions and should not be allowed to stand in the way of diplomatic officers’ efforts to perform these responsibilities. Their potential should be fully utilised to achieve national economic objectives.

The overseas Pakistani community also provides economic support to the country through remittances and investment in various schemes. Its welfare should, therefore, be pursued as one of the objectives of Pakistan’s foreign policy. A well-disposed and content overseas Pakistani community could play an important role, in promoting Pakistan’s economic interests abroad.

The importance of electronic media and its influence on shaping up of international issues has seen a phenomenal increase in recent times. Taking advantage of this, Pakistan’s adversaries have become active in harming its interests, by making use of a highly biased international media. Unfortunately, Pakistan’s missions abroad have not been able to effectively counter negative propaganda against their country which has particularly harmed Pakistan’s economic interests. Now that the government has itself laid great emphasis on economic diplomacy and intends to pursue it vigorously it would be imperative to harness the global media to Pakistan’s advantage.

Diplomatic missions abroad do not make country’s foreign policy. They execute it. The pursuit of foreign policy objectives is a sophisticated and arduous job. If a diplomatic mission is manned by incompetent persons it would not be able to accomplish the desired objectives of foreign policy, however well-conceived and pragmatic it may be. Regrettably, the performance of Pakistan’s missions abroad has weakened considerably. It is, therefore, necessary to pay an urgent attention to arrest this decline and to take remedial measures to ensure the accomplishment of country’s foreign policy objectives.

Another important matter, which has a direct bearing on the execution of the foreign policy, pertains to the selection of ambassadors. An ambassador, as head of his embassy, is also a leader of men. He represents his country and it is he who either fosters or falters in promoting his national interests in the country of his accreditation. An ambassador should, therefore, be a person, well rounded, imbibing high scholarly qualities and modern knowledge with impeccable integrity. If an ambassador lacks these essential qualities, he would not be able to respond to the challenges of modern diplomacy. It is hardly necessary to emphasise that while selecting ambassadors the government must put more premium on competence and integrity rather than extraneous considerations.

The writer is a former ambassador of Pakistan.

PRESIDENT Pervez Musharraf has often stated that Pakistan is fast heading towards the goal of becoming a modern, moderate and democratic Islamic state. While few would doubt his intentions in taking the country in that direction, his pronouncements not backed by a comprehensive plan of action and strong resolve appear, unfortunately, to be mere rhetoric and cliches.

First, it is important to have a clear concept of the attributes that constitute a modern, moderate and democratic state operating in an Islamic setting. Keeping that in view, it would be interesting to determine as to where Pakistan stands today, what measures are in place and what additional ones are needed to achieve this lofty objective.

For obtaining the status of a modern state, Pakistan should attain a literacy rate of above 90 per cent and develop a well-developed human resource base with substantial scientific and engineering component. Another feature would be a viable, self-sustaining economy that is capable of meeting at least the minimum essential needs of the majority of its people. Its other characteristics should include a pluralistic democratic polity free of ethnic and sectarian prejudices, a country that has a constitution and where there is rule of law and women and minorities are empowered and institutions, not individuals, prevail.

There are other critical benchmarks that need to be crossed. Pakistani polity has to be at peace with itself and the country has to develop a harmonious relationship with its neighbours without which any desire of achieving a bright and prosperous future may turn out to be an exercise in futility.

Judging by these standards, it is difficult to assume that we are heading in that direction. There is, however, little doubt that as a people and as a country we have the potential of attaining this goal provided the military and political leaderships are prepared to shed their institutional and policy shortcomings and take the corrective measures.

Information and knowledge are the competitive weapons of the countries in today’s world. Successful nations have repeatedly demonstrated that knowledge is a more powerful and valuable asset than other resources or huge currency reserves. The present government could claim that it has allocated relatively more resources to education than the previous one but still the country is woefully lagging behind in all three sectors — primary, secondary and higher education. Education still gets a low priority and there is little recognition of its being central input in the process of development and progress. Clearly, this has a lot to do with the prevalence of the feudal and militaristic mindset of the society.

Pakistan has to prepare itself to meet the challenge of global economic competition that demands high skills from workers and proficiency from managers to be suitable for working in modern factories and farms. A country with a sound engineering and scientific human resource is the best incentive for the domestic and foreign investor.

Another area of serious attention is the refurbishing of the country’s religious schools. President Musharraf, undoubtedly, is seized of the issue but the effort so far has been half-hearted and unlikely to achieve tangible results unless there is a realization among the ulema of its merits.

The claim to modernity would sound hollow unless concrete measures for the education and emancipation of our women are put in place. Experience has shown that female education remains a pre-requisite for nation building and greatly contributes in critical areas such as population control. Considering the abysmal state of girl’s education in Balochistan, the NWFP, rural Sindh and parts of lower Punjab, a major undertaking would be necessary. This transformation is feasible provided major reforms are introduced in the political and cultural fields to change the mindset of the leaders and society as a whole.

Fortunately, economy is one area that is showing promise. Having a favourable environment because of Pakistan’s leading role in the war against terror and the sound fiscal and monetary policies put in place prior to 9/11, the economy seems to be heading for a turnaround. Having achieved macro-economic stability the trickle-down effect on the productive sectors of the economy is likely to occur. Leading economists of the country are hopeful that the recovery is quite broad-based and the GDP growth will be around 5 per cent this year. And if this is sustained, projections are that Pakistan could reach 6 per cent growth rate in the coming years which would have positive implications on all other sectors. More can then be diverted towards education, health and development of physical infrastructure.

In contrast to the economy, domestic politics seems to be proceeding on an uncertain course. Our major political dilemma is the warped civil-military relationship. Till such time that there is a durable supremacy of the elected parliament over the military, the country will continue to face instability and recurrent crises. Military or authoritarian rulers, in order to perpetuate themselves in power, invariably weaken political institutions, judiciary and the civil society. The present government has been no exception either.

But now that President Musharraf has been at the helm of affairs for over three and half years and has acquired sufficient level of confidence in dealing with domestic and international affairs he should be in a position to reverse this trend so that the country could gradually revert to normality. The military also needs to take concrete and discernible measures to allow the civilianization of public sector enterprises and government departments without which the civilian leadership will remain stunted and demoralized. Development of a strong, proficient and reasonably corruption-free bureaucracy is one of the prerequisites of modernization.

Equally, if not more, lies the responsibility on the civilian leadership to shed their personality oriented politics and instead embrace people-centric and issue-based politics. Currently, the mainstream political parties such as the PPP and the PML, which includes all their factions, are passing through their worst internal crisis. These parties are fractionalized and in disarray and the military alone cannot be blamed for it. There is an urgent need to reform and re-organize them so that the parties acquire an internal democratic character and develop an institutional capacity to lead the country in the government or in the opposition. For the political parties to move away from patronage to professionalism will require not only a change of policy but of attitude and culture that needs to be nurtured and as of now there is no move in that direction.

The religious parties and particularly the Jamaat are relatively more organized, articulate and have a programme to offer even if one may not agree with its mandate. It is important to underscore that whereas, only 11 per cent of the vote was captured by them in the last elections they are governing two sensitive provinces of Pakistan and are fast becoming important power brokers in the emerging political landscape. Ironically, it is the military and the MMA that will be the main players in formulating the constitutional package and shaping the future of this country.

Undoubtedly the army and the MMA have different long-term agendas but there is always a danger that this combination could drive Pakistan away from being a moderate state that is overwhelmingly committed to tolerance and modernism. However, in all fairness to both the JUI and the JI it could be said that they have shown a fair degree of sophistication in dealing with India or against domestic radicalism in the recent past. It has to be seen as to whether this is a strategic or mere tactical adjustment and what would be their position in resolving the Kashmir conflict — the primacy of a political process or Jihad. Of especial interest would be their dealing with domestic issues of education, health and overall governance.

There are clear lessons in this situation for the mainstream political parties if they are to maintain and enhance their relevance in the post-LFO political scenario.

Accountability and the rule of law are essential elements of a modern state. If President Musharraf is serious about transforming Pakistan’s society to face the current challenges he will have to undo the culture of selective accountability. As of now there is little evidence of that happening. At the same time one cannot ignore the reality that the PPP and the PML, when in power, miserably failed in combating corruption and at times were alleged to be colluding with it.

Enduring political stability and economic progress will only be achievable if the geo-political environment improves. With the help of the international community, particularly the US, the current peace initiatives with India have to be sustained. The causes of friction with Afghanistan also need to be addressed. A peaceful Afghanistan is equally essential for the stability of Pakistan. Over the long run a thaw in India- Pakistan relations will permit both countries to divert spendings on defence to development and will give them the benefit of inter-regional trade. A peaceful environment is also likely to attract investment and improve the overall image of the country and have a positive fallout on the domestic political situation. The blowback from the conflict in Kashmir and the civil war in Afghanistan has been enormous on Pakistan’s polity.

The genius of the present leadership will lie in translating these political, economic and social aspirations into a series of more specific decisions and then implementing them to move towards modernity and moderation. Then only we can progress on all matters ranging from job creation, education, technology and productivity to internal harmony and external peace.

The writer is a retired lieutenant-general of Pakistan army.