The Brics declaration, signed by the five emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa has listed a number of terrorist organisations against which these countries feel action needs to be taken. While the declaration has made fleeting mention of Afghanistan and skirted around directly naming Pakistan, it has however identified groups known to be active in Pakistan as being responsible for creating regional disturbance. The groups named include the Afghan Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaesh-e-Muhammad. The fact that Russia and especially China have now joined what appears to be an increasingly vocal global concern regarding Pakistan and terror will be of concern to Islamabad. The inclusion of the Haqqani Network is particularly noteworthy since the Brics summit comes soon after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering and even aiding members of the group. For an ally like China to sign on to this statement could indicate that it is now focused on better relations with both India and the US, particularly as this action from China came soon after the end of its border dispute with India. Predictably, Pakistan has not reacted well to the declaration, with the Foreign Office and the defence minister rejecting any idea of Pakistan providing safe haven to terrorists. Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif too has responded by rejecting any allegations but has also said that we too may need to put our own house in order and that it is up to us to convince our allies that the situation here has improved.
Pakistan can certainly make the case that it has taken effective action against militant groups. Operation Zarb-e-Azb has been successful in containing the TTP threat and now the operation has been expanded to include the Islamic State. While admitting that there is still work to be done, both in the military and political spheres, it cannot be denied that progress has been made in eliminating the militant threat. Still, Pakistan is seen internationally as the biggest hindrance in the battle against terrorism. This may partly be due to our own internal instability and the inter-institutional problems that can lead to perceptions of inconsistency as far as our policy on militancy is concerned. Pakistan needs to rethink precisely what it is doing wrong. It simply cannot afford to face so much isolation and mistrust from the world. If we take an honest look at all that has happened, we can also see that the policies devised during the cold war have not entirely been pushed back. The ineffective National Action Plan of 2015 has never been implemented on the ground, and there is evidence that at least some militant forces continue to operate from within the country.
The Brics declaration makes it seem as if China too now holds that fear. While there is no immediate threat to the close relationship between Pakistan and China, this should serve as a wake-up call to us. China is a regional – indeed, global – superpower and its priorities will not always align with our interests. It is too early to say if the Brics declaration will be followed by any substantive change in policy. China claims it is only reaffirming what it has long said before about terrorism. India, though, is not going to see it that way and Narendra Modi will use this declaration to further denounce and isolate Pakistan. The fact that China has this time not tried to temper the language of the declaration will be a cause for worry in Islamabad. For now, the best way forward for Pakistan is to focus on the task of building greater credibility for itself in the eyes of the world, along with a serious attempt at policy readjustment. Quite obviously, mere denials will no longer suffice. Most importantly, our own people too need to escape the uncertainty they have lived with constantly for many decades. For that, changing the national security paradigm to one which focuses on development and growth is essential.