'Pakistan need economic and political strength'

Executive Director, Center for Research & Security Studies (CRSS), Imtiaz Gul on Wednesday said Pakistani people need economic and political strength and this desire cannot be fulfilled without addressing the structural causes of instability that Pakistan is faced with.
He expressed these views at the launch of two reports titled "Pakistan's Security Challenges" and "Afghan Jihad & Emergence of Transnational Networks" here at Center for Research and Security Studies. Imtiaz Gul said that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam, adding it (Pakistan) became a country of al Qaida. He termed the incident of Osama Bin Laden (OBL) as a good omen for the country, saying despite the fact that the country and the nation faced humiliation in this regard. He further said that the role of military was dominant in the Pakistan's problem.
Citing an example, he said that four officials of a secret law-enforcement agency were killed in Balochistan and the killers left piece of paper, which said it is response of mutilated bodies. Lashing out at politicians, he said they failed to define FATA status in the 18th amendment. He added that Parliamentary Reforms Committee has never mentioned for a single time the status of FATA.
He said that political parties were also behind the instability, adding JUI and MQM were trigger causes. He said both parties play a significant role in making and dislodging governments. He said that one was dominant in Karachi and another in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa and were doing the politics of blackmailing.
About the launch of reports, he said CRSS works on the issues of democracy, governance and security, terrorism in Pakistan and commissioned these reports to review the year 2010 and challenges that it offered to the Pakistani State and society. He highlighted that "Pakistan's Security Challenges" analyses three most critical security problems that Pakistan is faced with including the issue of Balochistan and ever-deteriorating situation of law and order in Karachi.
Imtiaz briefed the media and said that this report divides Pakistan's security challenges into two categories, ie structural and trigger. Among the structural causes, the Center has analysed the situation of civil military relations, absence of good governance, inter-provincial disharmony, socio-economic disparity among population and army's predominance of the Pakistan's foreign policy.
While among the trigger causes, soviet invasion, war on terror and military operations, natural calamities, and conduct of the political parties are among the most important. The report also lists the status of FATA, feudalism, bureaucratic lethargy and political expedience and lack of vision among the "Structural" causes that have created internal and external security challenges for Pakistan. The report strongly emphasises on the Federation to find a political and agreeable solution to the situation in Balochistan along with maintaining peace in Karachi. Appreciating the recent parliamentary hearing on the issue of Osama's death, he said that this could be the beginning of better parliamentary days because this was the first time the top military elite stood for eleven hours before the elected representatives. He also remarked that military's predominance on many policy and strategic issues has created many problems for Pakistan and its people.
The other report discusses the emergence of transnational networks that started to emerge during the so-called Afghan Jihad and assumed the role of informal financial and assistance lines initially to "Mujahideen" and later to terrorist after September 11.
Executive Director, Imtiaz Gul said that Pakistan has been passing through one of the most challenging phase since its founding where the political and security challenges are multi-faceted. He stressed the need of finding coherence in Pakistan's domestic and diplomatic policies in trying to carve out a vision of peaceful Pakistan. He added that Pakistan's political system should do and deliver better on the challenges that Pakistan is facing internally and internationally. He urged the need to end the politics of blackmailing in Pakistan to make country economically stable and prosperous.