Economic progress of Pakistan is not possible without ensuring human security in terms of improving their life standard and providing them with basic amenities like water, food and energy and the country also needs to stop using non-state actors against its neighbours to improve the relations. Panellists said this here on Friday while speaking at a seminar "The Real Game Changer: Need for Long-term Security and Stability in Pakistan," organised by Institute for Policy Reforms.
Humayun Akhtar Khan, chairman and chief executive officer of the institute, said people must be put at centre of the country's security strategy as it touched the life of every citizen. "Economic progress is not possible without it. Safety, security and prosperity are indivisible," he said, adding the logic and nature of violence had also evolved over the period of time that needs to be looked into inclusively.
"War between two or more states is neither the norm, nor does violence has a clear beginning and an end," he said, adding that violence in Pakistan was an amalgam of political, sectarian and criminal factors as the external forces cannot act on their own.
In these circumstances, a nation's defence is no longer the responsibility of a single institution, he said, adding that civil institutions and the whole country must contribute to make Pakistan a formidable state. "Pakistani policymakers must act to respond to grievances within and investing in citizens' security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence," he said. Pakistan must strengthen its economy to meet defence needs because the combination of large budget deficits, foreign exchange pressures, dependence on external aid, infrastructure deficit and inability to invest in human resource is unsustainable, he said.
Humayun Akhtar Khan said Pakistan must merge its economic, security and development plans into a national security strategy. "We need an integrated approach with every part of the state fully on board with the plans of the other," he said. Eminent defence analyst, General Talat Masood (retd), said since its creation, Pakistan had faced an existential challenge and that naturally increased the importance of the military in national decision making.
"Pakistan has sought to balance the threat from India with global and regional alliances," he said, adding the army's centrality was reinforced by the fact that it was also the most organised institution in the country, especially when compared with political parties.
"The civilian leadership has never posed a serious challenge to the army because of dynastic politics and lack of competence of the politicians," he said, adding that in fact, civilian leaders had ceded control of security and foreign policy to the army. Masood said that sustainable security would not come without a strong economy and reduction of dependence on foreign aid. "We should converge our foreign, security and economic policies, and both civil and military leaders must develop a common strategy to boost them all," he said.
He said there was a link between internal and external security of the country and for long-term stability, Pakistan must normalise relations with India and improve cooperation with Afghanistan. "Pakistan must give up the policy of supporting non-state actors," he said, urging the civilian government to improve its governance to take control of security and foreign policies.
Speaking on the occasion, renowned writer Ahmed Rashid gave an overview of the regional situation and acknowledged that military operations in Federally Administered Tribal Areas had brought dramatic improvement in its security. He said Pakistan and Afghanistan both accused each other of hosting the Taliban on their lands, but it was a fact that Pakistan allowed open access to Afghan Taliban to Quetta and Peshawar.
"Many factions of Afghan Taliban are now fed up with Pakistan's policies too and they have made new friends like Qatar and Iran," he said, adding Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was under protection of the Afghan Taliban and they now pose a major security threat to Pakistan.
"If Afghan Taliban are so friendly with Pakistan, why aren't they arresting the TTP militants and handing them over to Pakistan," he questioned, claiming that Afghanistan was going to be a failed state if the militants' offensives continued for another year. Ahmed Rashid said Pakistan was globally isolated with regard to India as the latter was a big economy in the region after China. "Unless we get rid of extremists and non-state actors, the world is not going to trust us," he said.