PESHAWAR: Former Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed on Saturday called for a “regional reset” and a regional approach to reap the benefits of peace and security, and overcome terrorism.
Addressing the launching ceremony of non-profit and non-partisan research think-tank Advocacy for Sustainable Policy and Implementation Reforms- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Aspire-KP) as a key-note speaker, the journalist-turned-politician-turned-lawmaker said the province had suffered the most due to conflict in Afghanistan, geopolitics, and various internal and external machinations.
Aspire-KP is the brainchild of retired bureaucrats, led by its chairman, former chief secretary and federal secretary, Mohammad Arbab Shehzad. Its executive board includes retired civil officers, academicians, women right defenders and health professionals.
Mr Mushahid dwelt at length on issues that impacted Pakistan due to geo politics and internal strife and said the world had transformed and that this was the end of hundred years of the US-led Western hegemony and the beginning of the rise of Asia Century.
Research think-tank Aspire-KP launched
He said that 40 years ago, the then North-West Frontier Province (now KP) spent one-third of its budget on health and education, while 1.2 million Pakhtuns worked in the Gulf and the Middle East to contribute $1.6 billion to the national kitty in foreign reserves.
“Unfortunately, KP has become a war-zone. We have to make sure how to turn a war-zone into a zone of peace and prosperity in Pakistan. We need to learn from our mistakes,” he said.
The former lawmaker said there was an arc of instability from south in Balochistan to the north in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa due to internal and external factors. He said there was a need for the country to “reorient” foreign policy, particularly towards neighbours.
He called for a regional reset in relations with China, Afghanistan, Iran and India.
“We need to be part of the regional mainstream, and part of the solution and not a problem,” he said.
Mr Mushahid also urged Islamabad to redefine its policy on national security.
“Let us learn a lesson from Bangladesh,” he said.
He said political parties should come together and accept each other.
“Political parties need to grow up,” he said.
Mr Shehzad Arbab highlighted the mission of Aspire-KP and said it would strive to harness the power of collaboration, bringing together diverse expertise from intellectual, administrative and judicial realms through extensive research, knowledge exchange to help shape good policies and make a positive impact on public decisions.
He said 40 years ago, KP was a shining example of good governance but it later underwent a significant change and was currently struggling with various issues.
“The residents of KP have endured an unprecedented series of external shocks, including the Afghan conflict, militancy, the 2005 earthquake, protracted reign of terrorism, internal displacement and the devastating floods in 2010,” he said.
The Aspire-KP chairman said those challenges were compounded by financial indiscretion which led to an unsustainable increase in pay and pension.
He said in just over a decade, KP salary bill had ballooned from Rs76 billion to Rs680 billion, while pension bill had gone up from Rs11 billion to Rs183 billion.
“The government has to make a deliberate effort to arrest this trend,” he said.
Underlining the priorities of Aspire-KP, Mr Arbab said the think-tank would focus on peace and security in the face of resurgent terrorism, debt obligations and fiscal sustainability, analysis of the Fata merger shortcomings, decline and reforms in higher education, impact of climate change, KP’s youth and digital age.
Hifzur Rehman, a retired civil officer, presented the goals and objectives of the new platform, stressing that it was a non-profit, non-partisan and apolitical research-oriented platform.
Ombudsperson for Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplaces Raskhshinda Naz, who is also a member of the Aspire’s executive board, also shared her perspective.
Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2024