Wishlist for 2023

Political analysts, economists, social workers and most citizens or indeed all citizens in the country agree that 2023 needs to be a better year than the one that has just faded away. How are we to achieve this? We have had a year full of tumult and political instability, which has contributed to an economic crash. On Friday, the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting, which is expected to continue tomorrow, decided to “defend the country’s national interests and not allow anyone to undermine the key concept of national security”. The economic situation was also discussed at the NSC meeting. It is important that all key stakeholders take into account the fragile economy and the political uncertainty when coming up with solutions to Pakistan’s multi-pronged problems. The number one priority of our policymakers should be to ensure that the flood affectees are rehabilitated and resettled so that they are able to start their new lives after having lost their loved ones and their livelihoods. Without rehabilitating the flood victims, the country cannot move ahead. Nor can we do much without tackling the terror threat this year – on an emergency basis.

Pakistan needs to make sure the Afghan Taliban realize the gravity of the situation and act against any of the TTP operating from Afghan soil. Terror networks operating from within Pakistan have also to be dealt with. Pakistan fought back against terrorism for over a decade. Now that terrorism is raising its head again, we need to be more vigilant. A political consensus ala the National Action Plan (NAP) has to come into force again to ensure that we fight this malaise with a united front.

This year should see the country attempt to fix a foreign policy that went somewhat askew over the past two to three years. The current setup has claimed that it is trying to restore and normalize some broken relations but much more needs to be done on this front. The elephant in the room this time around is on both sides of our border – India and Afghanistan. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, it has a lot to do with our current security situation. For this, the military and civilian sides both need to form a consensus in order to relay a message to the Afghan Taliban. As for India, the Modi government has continued its belligerence despite peace overtures from the Pakistani side. It is important that the Indian side changes its attitude. We have seen how opening trade routes and relaxing the visa regime benefitted both sides. The Kashmir question also needs to be addressed if we want tensions to ease. Indian human rights violations have not gone unnoticed at international forums, and we should continue to raise this issue while also inviting the Indian side for negotiations.

But the most confounding issue that haunts Pakistan is political polarization. It is important that the PTI and Imran Khan realize what their divisive politics has done to politics. Now that they are not left with many options, they should return to parliament to discuss these issues with the government so that Pakistan can move towards free and fair elections by the end of this government’s constitutionally mandated tenure – without any extensions in tenure or dreams of textended caretaker setups. It is important to reiterate that a new charter of democracy and a charter of economy materialize so that the country can have both political and economic stability. The country's political parties must accept that they need to truly serve the people in whose names they claim to speak. Pakistan needs a new dawn in order to avoid descending into chaos. Some of it may come from outside the political bubble and through localized civil rights initiatives. Here's hoping for a better year ahead.