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TThe recent wave of terrorist attacks across the length and breadth of Pakistan has shaken the entire nation. More than 100 people were killed and hundreds were injured in attacks perpetrated in all provincial capitals, tribal areas as well as Azad Kashmir in less than a week.
The attacks came at a time when the government was showcasing Pakistan as a favorite destination for private investment and convincing foreign entrepreneurs to invest in the country.
The stable security situation is a pre-requisite to attract private entrepreneurs to put in their money in a particular area or a country.
The security situation across the country has undoubtedly improved a lot over the past two years and so.
The terrorist sanctuaries operating in the lawless tribal belt on the border with Afghanistan have been successfully eliminated during the military operations there.
The security situation in Karachi, the commercial and economic hub of the country, has also considerably improved after the launch of targeted Rangers operation there. The incidents of kidnapping for ransom, money extortion, target killings, land grabbing etc have drastically reduced during this period, and it has restored confidence in the business community of the city to fully resume their activities in the mega city which produces nearly 45 percent of the total revenues for the country.
But it sounds a bit inappropriate on the part of some senior government functionaries to claim full victory in the middle of a long-drawn and treacherous war.
Moreover, they need to explain the challenges faced by the country in their true perspective.
Pakistan has been facing the scourge of terrorism for the past three decades which exacerbated in the wake of Pakistan’s support for the US-led war on terrorism following 9/11,
Terrorists have been perpetrating attacks on Pakistan before the launch of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The CPEC, no doubt, is the most important geostrategic and infrastructure project in the region which has unnerved Pakistan’s enemies and rivals alike and they must be hatching conspiracies to harm, it but linking every terrorist atrocity to the CPEC looks strange.
Pakistan has to tread a long way to get rid of this menace of terrorism and extremism and the government leaders need to paint a realistic picture before the nation and the outsiders about the situation in order to avoid theories which they cannot corroborate to avoid any embarrassment.
Over the past many years, our leaders have claimed several times that the back of the terrorists have been broken, but all such claims ended up in more brutal attacks from the terrorists.
It is not just the security front where unrealistic claims were made; on the economic front too some claims are being made which are above and beyond reality.
When this government took power in 2013, the country was on the verge of default and one must give credit to it for salvaging it from the brink of collapse.
Economically, the country is in a much better position than it was three years ago, but to claim complete turnaround sounds too ambitious.
The economic situation though improved; there is a role of extraneous factors in this improvement. For example, the inflation has dropped to a record level over the past two years, much of which should be attributed to the drastic fall in the international oil prices that also resulted in an increase in the purchasing power of the people.
Our worthy finance minister Ishaq Dar is fond of quoting reports from the foreign media as well as those from international rating agencies to buttress his claims.
For example, very recently he has been very enthusiastically quoting an opinion article published by the Bloomberg wire service headlined “Pakistan’s Economy is a Pleasant Surprise” by Tayler Cowen.
The article in fact offers a superfluous explanation of the positive economic indicators of the country and does not undertake any elaborate analysis of what has been achieved and how and what are the main challenges for the economy.
Apparently, that is why, there is a disclaimer at the end of the article from the Bloomberg that: “This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners”.
One can dig out a lot of such articles showering praise on the achievements of the previous governments too. It is however more important to analyse what went wrong with them and then to avoid those pitfalls instead of indulging in self-praise.
Interestingly, Pakistanis have seen a similar “turnaround” under the government of general Pervez Musharraf, when his government achieved economic growth of 7 percent for several years, a drastic cut in poverty, a healthy increase in foreign remittances, and a real estate boom. But all those achievements squandered because of the political turmoil in 2007-8.
Therefore, we need to be watchful of the pitfalls like political stability and deterioration in the security situation in order to consolidate our economic gains. For an economic turnaround, structural reforms are a must and unfortunately the government’s progress towards that objective is extremely low.
The much needed tax reforms and energy sector reforms are still awaiting attention from the government.
Now with general elections just an year away, one does not expect the government to risk backlash from the powerful political and business lobbies, especially at a time when it is already facing political heat from its opponents on the Panamagate scandal.
Currently, the government is facing numerous challenges on political, security and economic fronts. It needs to evolve a well-thought out strategy to deal with these challenges. Any unrealistic or overambitious goals would only be a diversion from the right path.
Pakistan is a strong nation of 200 million people that lies at the crossroads of three very important regions of the world. Its geostrategic location offers tremendous opportunities for inter-and intra-regional connectivity and collaboration.
Our leaders need to plead Pakistan’s case to their own people and the outside world in a strong but realistic manner.
The recent upsurge in terrorism is the most immediate challenge for the government and it poses serious threat to the achievements made so far on the political and economic fronts. Therefore, the government and other stakeholders need to forge unity in their ranks and draw up a sound and robust plan to effectively deal with it.
The writer is a senior journalist based in Islamabad
