Safety first

For over four decades now, the citizens of Pakistan have been facing repetitive crises due to lapses in internal security. These lapses are a result of the failed strategies of those who have assumed the role of guardians of the country’s national, foreign and economic policies. The constitution facilitates the creation of various bodies, funded by taxpayers, to perform these tasks and keep the country safe. Unfortunately, however, we are focused on strategies such as ‘strategic depth’ and proxy wars where we serve as tools of big powers to achieve their strategic goals, at the cost of our own security. It is an established principle that a state must have sole monopoly over the use of force and should never allow private militias to exist within its territory. Failure to do so may lead to an internal collapse or chaos. A state that sacrifices its territorial sovereignty to serve the strategic goals of other nations exposes itself to chaos and insecurity.

Unfortunately, when Zia got involved in a proxy war and began the so-called ‘jihad’ in Afghanistan, the sanctity of our Afghan border was compromised. Time and again we have been warned of the dangers of such a course of action, yet we fail to learn.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore