Pakistan’s Aid-dependent Sovereignty

The unilateral Bin Laden Operation in Abbottabad and continual drone attacks that kill far more innocents than militants are said to have violated Pakistan’s sovereignty. The concern is certainly reasonable but seems to be untimely at large. The terrorists roaming in Pakistan have been violating the sovereignty for many many years on daily basis unquestioned, unpunished with little condemnation. They have received far less attention than the threat they pose. Any major terrorist attack in any part of the world is traced back to its roots in Pakistan. Comparing both violations, terrorists’ has done far greater damage to Pakistan’s stability, credibility and capability of defending its sovereignty.

Many people believe in conspiracy theories. To them 9/11, London attacks, Mumbai attacks, war against terrorism and recently OBL fiasco all are but parts of a single play so wisely planned that the US want to get control over the Muslim world and rising China. Such suspicions became strong in aftermath of Saddam Hussein whose regime was toppled after alleging him of possessing the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) which would never be found out later. Unfortunately, in the era of mass media one cannot know for sure who is doing what.

True, Pakistan should not blindly trust the US rhetoric about the agenda in the region rather it should act in accordance to its own national interest. Certainly we have suffered at the hands of extremists more than any other nation. These terrorists have killed our 35,000 civilians, 5000 Pakistan Army troops and damaged Pakistan’s economy worth $ 47 billion. It is time we began cleaning our own backyard be it by working with the US but the cleaning should be according to our own definition not as dictated by the US. Such a cleaning must ensure that our homeland is not used for terrorist attack anywhere in the world.

Unfortunately we as a nation have never striven to be self-reliant. Our anemic state is aid dependent and corruption addict. Trade is scanty. The most well-known export of Pakistan that the world knows is terrorism. Survival without the aid is not impossible but so painful for the ruling elite that the addiction simply does not permit our leeches to live without it. Either way a common Pakistani has to suffer no matter Pakistan gets aid or not. The conditionalities attached to such foreign aid have made our sovereignty so porous that it has become non-existent. In such a situation ‘sovereignty issue’ becomes little ridiculous for many.

Again the question of being self-reliant comes up. There is no way perhaps because there is no real coherent will. More importantly what about our defence hardware requirements? Will China replace the US? China seems not to be so interested in throwing cash on the table nor would it be ready to replace Pakistan’s American brand defence system completely. At the moment Chinese want money not hegemony in the region. Pakistan’s military needs make Pakistan and the US relations mandatory for Pakistan although China which is known as the all-weather-friend of Pakistan might be the last lifeline if a US led cyclone hits Pakistan. But why do we not try to make our own military hardware? Sadly we are not much interested in Science and Technology. Few are working but they are helpless. So the apparent solution lies in dependence, a bitter pill that we have to swallow.

It is not time for tantrums in the conduct of our international relations. We need to make a planning for coming decades and act accordingly. There is no quick fix. So long we are an aid dependent nation we are not sovereign. So long we permit militants to operate from our territories we are at risk of foreign invasions. We shall truly become a sovereign and respectable nation the day when we are not dependent on foreign aid, not when we beg it.

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