The amateur republic and its deadly enemies

The terrorists attack, the TV networks go berserk and a pall of fear and gloom sets in. The government raises the level of security and nervously watches the type of establishments targeted in the latest attack. The terrorists are no fools; they use the element of surprise and target a different type of location. This is easy when terrorist acts are carried out by walking, human bombs. The moral is that raising security levels is only part of the solution.

Enhanced systems of surveillance and intelligence and counterterrorist patrolling, in addition to the stationary check posts, can be more effective. Unfortunately, the state has failed to beat the terror networks by not being able to identify the local operatives who form a vital link between the masterminds and the foot soldiers. While the terrorist handlers are cool and calculating, the authorities behave amateurishly more often than not.

The news of a vast security operation by the army and the Rangers in Punjab is reassuring and worrying at the same time. If the presence of the terrorists’ handlers and facilitators was known, why did the state not nab them? This only reinforces concern over the Punjab government’s unwillingness to take on militant and terrorist groups.

The recent attacks, like those witnessed in Paris, Brussels, Ankara, Lahore and other places, can recur unless the governments concentrate on locating the operational network. Beefed up security in some places is easily overcome by the terrorists choosing a different target. That being an extremely difficult mission, terrorism cannot be eradicated in the short term. It may continue irrespective of special operations because the terrorists can relocate and take refuge in new areas after fleeing their existing hideouts.

Terrorists constitute only one of the threats to state and society. A weak state is also at the mercy of criminal gangs and mafias of different hues, challenging its writ all around. The Pakistani state has been particularly inept in its fight against terrorist and criminal gangs, for the simple reason that the state is run in an amateurish manner.

Society, by and large, resists institutionalisation by relying on a spoils system, nurtured through family, clan and friends. In the rat race, connections rather than merit win the day. It is indeed a wonder that the system has not collapsed. Axiomatically speaking, Pakistan is a state that never fails, but it is also true that it seldom succeeds. It is devoid of professionalism and oozing with nepotism. It is neither good at revenue collection nor able to provide essential services like education and healthcare.

The private sector has gradually stepped into these spheres but it can only serve the well-heeled, because its leitmotif is profit and the common people cannot afford its costs. The amateur state has presided over the alarming decline of public sector enterprises like the railways, the airline and the steel mill. Nobody has been punished for this criminal negligence to start a course correction.

Nobody tenders resignation or expresses remorse in the republic, even after showing gross inefficiency or negligence. The government plods on, with declining levels of production and exports but increasing levels of borrowing. Reports of cabinet reshuffling surface and die down, as the cabinet itself is rendered irrelevant by not having any cabinet meetings! There is a complete absence of any system of punishment and reward.

This sorry state of affairs goes on, while the internal and external enemies of Pakistan intensify their efforts to ruin Pakistan. The latest proof of Indian perfidy, if proof was needed, has come with the arrest of a RAW field commander in Balochistan. This, however, is only the tip of the iceberg. Yet, questions remain about the timing of his capture. It is time to unmask other actors involved in destabilising Pakistan by funding separatist, terrorist and sectarian networks.

Some of our detractors have no hesitation in showing their hostility towards Pakistan. Donald Trump, notorious for rattling US politics, has pinpointed Pakistan as a potential target. He claims that Afghanistan is important because it is next to Pakistan, which has a big nuclear arsenal. In his opinion, if Pakistan goes “rogue” – you get the drift – “we should work with India” to deal with the situation.

While Trump may sound quixotic in his choice of words, the US has been quietly building a vast array of fortified buildings in Islamabad’s diplomatic enclave, just in case. Trump is not alone in his fulminations against the ‘Islamic’ nukes. Our very own Hussain Haqqani goes around delivering lectures at hefty honoraria to explain how dangerous this country is.

Not to be left behind, the CNN’s Fareed Zakaria goes for the jugular. Zakaria tells whoever is ready to listen that Pakistan is dangerous. He says that for years the US has focused on Iran, which does not possess a single nuclear weapon or North Korea, which has a few of them. It should focus on the country that has a hundred nukes.

The Indian and Israeli lobbies in the US have been working for years to undermine Pak-US ties; the latest manifestation of that is the orchestrated opposition to the delivery of eight F-16s, which will not only help Pakistan maintain its airpower but also benefit the US’s defence industry, saving thousands of jobs. Pakistan gets only begrudging credit for its sacrifices to secure peace in our neighbourhood. While it fights the terrorist networks, some of them are kept in business by the so-called champions of democracy.

The nation looks on nervously as Pakistan heads to Washington to hear a litany of concerns about its nuclear programme. Our representatives should not waver in safeguarding Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns in the nuclear domain at the Nuclear Security Summit. In the ruthless international power game, the weak do not really count.

Email: saeed.saeedk@gmail.com