Who needs a foreign minister?

There is a growing sentiment in Pakistan that the country’s diplomacy is handicapped by the absence of a foreign minister. This is a repeat of Nawaz Sharif’s first tenure (1990-93). But Nawaz is not alone in keeping the foreign affairs portfolio. Z A Bhutto had kept the charge of foreign minister till after the 1977 election.

In India, Nehru as prime minister had no foreign minister for an even longer period. The reality is that Nawaz is his own foreign minister like Bhutto and Nehru in their times. Although even when we have a foreign minister, says former foreign minister and career diplomat Abdul Sattar, every premier is his own foreign minister. That applies to all chief executives including the US president who is often referred to as the ‘diplomat in chief’. It is however inconceivable that a US president can function without a secretary of state.

Nawaz Sharif has so far ignored suggestions to appoint a foreign minister. As his own foreign minister, he keeps a low-key public role as the country’s top diplomat. In contrast, Nawaz Sharif is also the communications minister but he maintains a very high profile in that capacity. Hardly a week goes without the PM dwelling on some motorway or communications project or laying the foundation of a new road project or eulogising the economic corridor.

When it comes to foreign affairs, Nawaz is a model of reserve and ambivalence. As the country’s foreign minister, his response to the US claim of killing Mullah Mansour on our soil has been enigmatic – followed by laconic. Left in a void, the Foreign Office is, as usual, busy in damage control with standard expressions of verifying details and protesting about the violation of our frontiers. On the other hand, the president of the sole superpower brags about taking out their enemy on our territory and promises more of the same if need be.

Chaudhry Nisar’s press conference was a detailed expose of how Afghan nationals have been manipulating the system to get Pakistani travel documents. He accused the US of eliminating Taliban leaders according to its own dislikes and not necessarily because they were for or against negotiations. This was followed by a second protest – this time by Gen Raheel Sharif, to the US envoy in Islamabad, reminding him that attacks in settled areas of Pakistan would undermine relations with the US.

Washington and Kabul have been emphatic about the identity of Akhtar Mansour. Pakistan has not denied it either – while focusing a great deal on the presumed name of Wali Mohammad. The best answer Pakistan has found to the violation of our sovereignty so far is an endless series of talk shows. They drone and we talk. A bit like when the Zionists kill the Palestinians and occupy their lands. The ummah calls conferences and goes into lamentations.

While we talk, verify and protest, the Afghan Taliban have accepted the reality and have proceeded to elect Maulvi Haibatullah – Obama should be informed about its meaning – as their new chief. It is beyond amazing that even after Mansour’s family claimed and received his corpse, we are reluctant to accept that the bearded man posing as a Pakistani named Wali was indeed Mullah Mansour.

Analysts are almost unanimous in concluding that Pakistan will have to deal with the fallout of Mansour’s death. Are we back to square one like the days when Washington confronted Musharraf for playing both sides in the war on terror? Benazir took advantage of the situation, promised the US that she would pursue the jihadis single-mindedly and got the NRO to return home. While the case of her assassination drags on, the motive of her murder clearly points in the Taliban’s direction.

Following a nominal transfer of power to civilians in 2008, Pakistan’s strategists retained the good and bad Taliban paradigm sensing that the US and its Nato allies could not stay on permanently in Afghanistan and that the Afghan Taliban had time on their side. The supporters of that view argue that Operation Zarb-e-Azb has pushed the jihadis in North Waziristan into Afghanistan, and that restrictions on the Afghan Taliban would alienate them. This argument implies that we do not have an alternative to allowing them freedom of movement while they refuse to talk to Kabul and plan terrorist operations against the Afghan government that is recognised by Pakistan.

A Catch-22 situation? It is mind boggling that the world’s sixth largest country in terms of population, possessing one of the largest armies on earth, finds itself incapable of countering marauders spreading anarchy in the name of religion. Is it too hard to imagine that the Taliban power next door cannot be without repercussions on our bordering regions and encouraging extremism in the rest of the country?

The US and its Afghan allies have been pressing Pakistan to crack down on the Haqqani Network and push the Afghan Taliban to the negotiating table. The strategists have succeeded in landing Pakistan into a corner. Whether it is Obama, Clinton or Trump, they are issuing warnings to Pakistan to choose the Americans. Congress has gone one step ahead by denying funding for the F-16s and attaching unprecedented conditions to US assistance for Pakistan. These developments should serve as the last wakeup call to review our Afghanistan policy.

As the US keeps tightening the screw on Pakistan, the country appears isolated. We may be strengthening economic and security links with China but India has devised a counter-strategy to the CPEC by accelerating the development of an alternate corridor to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Iran. Modi has also gone the extra mile to forge ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

It is time that the foreign minister of Pakistan – who also happens to be the prime minister – started devoting more time to pressing security issues involving vital relationships. Motorways are fine but security and economic survival are more urgent. Imagine a country with excellent roads and fancy shopping malls but becoming more and more marginalised in the region and the wider world. It’s your call Mr Prime Minister!

Email: saeed.saeedk@gmail.com