ThinkFest 2020: Current Pak policy aims to keep wars out of its territory, says Dr Moeed

LAHORE: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning Moeed Yusuf has said that currently Pakistan’s thrust of foreign policy is on keeping external wars out of its territory.

“At the moment, Pakistan’s engagements in the region aim to convince the rival countries to de-escalate, and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi’s current tour of Iran, Saudi Arabia and US is a step in that direction,” says the expert. He was speaking at a session on “Defining National Security” on the second and concluding day of ThinkFest 2020, held here at Alhamra Hall-II on Sunday. Ijaz Haider, a security analyst and TV anchor, moderated the session.

Moeed said Pakistan is the only country in the Muslim world at the moment that can talk to every country. “Pakistan knows mediation will not bear fruit in this situation, but it’s time to engage in diplomacy to prevent escalation,” he said, adding that the media criticised it as a mediation effort, though it was not. “We are not doing it for optics, but in the national interest,” he added.

“Had we been doing it for optics, we would not have engaged Taliban, as the international media was bashing Pakistan for being allied with them (Taliban),” Moeed said, adding that if we can use our avenues to bring peace in the region, then optics don’t matter.

To a question about pulling out of Kuala Lumpur summit, PM’s advisor said it was conscious decision to pull out of KL Summit, which might have given bad optics but Pakistan managed to handle it well in the end.

The PM headed straight to Saudi Arabia before KL Summit with Iran participating in it, and tried to play a role to put out the rage. “Even if there’s 5 per cent probability of success, Pakistan is going for it,” he said, adding that Saudi Arabia was also apprehensive about a parallel organisation being formed to replace the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

He said the response of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan was favourable and dignified despite Pakistan pulling out of KL Summit. Pakistan is in touch with Turkey; Prime Minister Imran Khan is going to Malaysia next month, and Saudi Arabia is still in our camp. “Where’s the failure? It may give bad optics, but it’s not a failure,” he said in a satirical manner.

He said Turkey and Malaysia had supported Pakistan on Kashmir and Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and Pakistan had its interests with other countries, including Saudi Arabia, too. “We have to be cognizant of our national interests,” he said, and added that Pakistan’s foreign policy was to reduce the probability of external wars on its territory.

At National Security Division, Moeed Yusuf said, “we are developing a coherent National Security Policy, which integrates foreign policy, internal security, education, population, global warming, culture and tourism, with a sole aim to ensure the social and economic security of the common man.

“It will be out by the end of this year,” he said and added that we were breaking away from traditional definition of single-track geo-economic policy and now integrating all sectors to work in tandem to achieve the goal of uplifting the common man.

“It’s a paradigm shift. It’s not going to happen overnight, but finally, it will be out by the end of 2020,” he added. For 70 years, he said, we have been functioning under short-term strategies. “Our job at National Security Division is not to tell what will happen tomorrow, but what will happen day after tomorrow,” he added.

He PM’ advisor said the issue of Kashmir was truly alive solely because of the struggle of the people of Kashmir. However, he said, Pakistan is also very effectively raising the issue of Indian-Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K) through all diplomatic channels available to shake the conscience of the world community to provide justice to the oppressed people of held Valley. “The absence of all out open resistance is not a failure. Our approach is diplomatic,” he said, adding that Pakistan has also approached the United Nations, knowing that it can’t resolve the issue, but because the UN ensures Kashmir’s status as a legal dispute.

Moeed Yusuf said in order to justify inhuman siege of Kashmir, India had been trying to implicate Pakistan under charge of infiltration from Pakistan. “India, in fact, has brought down five fences at the Line of Control (LoC) to blame Pakistan for infiltration,” he revealed.