MILITANCY is unquestionably bad for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa like its consequences for any other region in the world, but the prospects it has unleashed, quite frankly, are not so unimpressive.

Pakistan’s bilateral and multilateral donors  Western and Middle Eastern  are pouring money alike to carry out economic growth projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. These projects can help in countering militancy in the longer run in Swat, Dir, Shangla, Tank, Karak, and Lakki Marwat.

If utilised intelligently and honestly, the billions of rupees development aid from foreign donors has the potential to instil a social change in the militancy affected areas. It can defeat extremism, in the longer run. Economic opportunities can be created and services improved with this money.

Has the province been able to let its people take advantage of the help the world is extending? Are its systems strong enough to utilise the opportunity to the benefit of the general public? Answers to these questions are hard to find in ‘yes’ or ‘no’ terms.

However, one can safely say that a window of opportunity is being lost to the narrow confines with which the elected provincial government is left to perform its role.

The suspicion with which the international donor driven projects are being seen these days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is proving counterproductive.

The province needs foreign assistance: cash and professional expertise. At the same time, the representatives of foreign missions and international aid agencies are being seen with suspicion.

Similarly, the country’s bilateral and multilateral donors are showing readiness to extend financial assistance, but they doubt our credibility and level of honesty because of our not so impressive track record. So they demand openness and access to areas where their projects are being carried out.

Dozens of development projects are being carried out with foreign assistance in different parts of the province, mainly Malakand that saw a Taliban takeover in 2008 before being reclaimed by the government in 2009 following a military operation.

In rupee terms, the accumulative foreign assistance (grants) currently available to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa comes to over Rs64 billion of which Rs19 billion would be spent under the provincial government’s annual development programme for the financial year 2012-13.  The remaining Rs45 billion amount is being spent through an independent public sectorProvincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, and Settlement Authority.

The money has far greater significance for the militancy affected parts of the province than the value the provincial government has been attaching to it. The government has its limitations. In real terms, it is a non-entity in the given situation since it has no say before the quarters that determine the country’s strategic priorities.

The country’s strategic preferences and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s development needs are, apparently, don’t go with each other. While development agenda can’t be implemented by shutting doors to others, strategic preferences dictate a close door policy.

This leaves the provincial government with quite a dilemma.

The province needs to create economic opportunities, promote education, improve services, and alleviate poverty to project modernity as a rewarding alternative for people who are prone to fall victim to militants’ agenda.

Protecting the people from the criminal clutches of militants through economic growth is a huge task and quite a difficult one too. A charismatic leadership could have helped a lot to secure people’s future, but that does not appear to be the case because of the existing leadership vacuum.

Money is an equally important factor. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s financial resources that it receives from the federal divisible pool are insufficient to foot the bill of its growing expenses. In a few years time, the province would either need to slash public sector jobs or borrow loans to pay staff salaries.

In dollar terms, the provincial government’s annual development program is a story of stagnation because of a high inflation rate. While the development spending is set to decrease in next couple of years because of a shrinking fiscal space available to the provincial government, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s development needs are on the rise due topopulation growth.

All this makes the foreign assistance an all important option available for the wellbeing of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The province can’t afford to lose this opportunity by closing its doors to foreigners in the name of security or due to the fears of espionage.

Instead of slapping restrictions on foreigners’ visits to the militancy affected areas, the provincial government and the country’s security establishment need to strengthen their systems and processes. Doing so would bring in openness without which the country’s international image cannot be improved.

The provincial home department’s reminder, publicised through newspaper and electronic media a couple of weeks ago, to foreign missions, donor agencies and international aid agencies about restrictions on their travelling in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not come as a help for the provincial government.

A gap between the guidelines set for the home department and the province’s development agenda is a dilemma that would eventually cost none other than the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.