Following article appeared in The Daily Telegraph on 30 March 2010.

 

The West should be a better friend to Pakistan

 

By Dean Nelson

 

Lahore, the capital of Punjab and Pakistan’s second largest city is today braced for 22 hours of power cuts. Its ten million people will swelter in temperatures of 37 degrees without air conditioners, fans or cold water, praying that that the thunderstorms predicted by the met men come to pass.

 

In Karachi too power is in short supply, while throughout the country water shortages are affecting crops. As the 28 million people who live in Pakistan’s two largest cities sweat it out, they could be forgiven for being ambivalent about their country’s support for our war on al-Qaeda and the Taliban-led insurgency in its tribal areas and over the border in Afghanistan.

 

Both cities have suffered terrible losses in terrorist attacks which were carried out in retaliation against Islamabad’s military, logistical and intelligence support for our war – many are worse off today than when the war began. Today, the G8 countries have announced a new economic initiative to help those living in Pakistan’s tribal areas because their support is “critical for global security”.

 

Friends of Democratic Pakistan, in which Britain, the EU and the United States play key roles, have targeted these same areas to make sure those which suffer most in the war are quickly rebuilt and given the social and physical infrastructure they need to thrive. But what about the rest of the country where the suspicion that America, Britain and the EU are fair weather friends is deeply engrained?

 

When I visited Karachi last week, I was asked what I see as the main differences between India and Pakistan. I said the most obvious is that India is confident and outward-looking, a global economic player focused on taking its place at the top table rather than its local squabble with Pakistan.

 

Pakistan on the other hand is febrile, parochial, and obsessed with its larger neighbour, and this is reflected in India’s ambitious scientific and engineering achievements. In the last few years it has developed the world’s cheapest car, mounted a highly successful lunar mission and its companies have bought iconic firms like Jaguar and Land Rover. Pakistani entrepreneurs and scientists on the other hand have achieved very little.

 

But I felt guilty as I said it. Pakistan has been the West’s plaything since General Zia Islamicised the country to suit our cold war needs in Afghanistan. Instead of encouraging the country to develop its economy and invest in science and education, we nodded in approval as mosques were built on every street corner and madrassas became the main institution for educating the nation’s children. As long as the country was sending a steady stream of Mujahideen across the border to fight the Soviet occupation, we didn’t much care about the broader and long-term impact on the country.

 

Today we blame the country for what we helped it become and instead of helping it emerge as an outward looking economy, we encourage dependence (and obedience) by our careful distribution of aid. When Pakistan’s army chief and foreign minister visited Washington earlier this month, they came away with $1 billion in military aid, a paltry $125 million to support its collapsing energy sector and a flat rejection of its request for the U.S to open up its textile markets to Pakistani exports.

 

It also dashed its hopes of a civil nuclear energy partnership like the one being fine-tuned with India right now. In this Pakistan is being punished for the proliferation activities of Dr A.Q Khan in a different era. It has been suggested that even if President Obama backed such a deal, he would not get it past Congress. But the President is persuasive, and the Congress might also see long-term benefits for American nuclear energy companies as it did in India.

 

Similarly, the European Union has failed to back Pakistan’s requests for duty-free access to its markets which would allow the country to trade its way to greater stability. We are “Friends of Democratic Pakistan”, but only just. Better friends might offer a helping hand up rather than manipulative hand-outs.

 

 

Courtesy: The Daily Telegraph

 

Last updated: 31 March 2010