Pakistan has not been able to learn anything from the secession of East Pakistan as it still continues to follow the same policies and methods that led to the country’s disintegration on 16 December 1971, particularly the unequal distribution of resources and authoritarian as well as repressive attitude towards ethnolinguistic diversity in the country.
The country also needs to recover funds of billions of rupees meant for the repatriation of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh, that lie in the Habib Bank Limited and had been frozen by the United States over allegations of terror financing after 9/11.
These view were expressed by speakers at a seminar titled “The East Pakistan tragedy: contemporary concerns,” organised by the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) at its library here on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, PIIA chairperson Dr Masuma Hasan said the separation of East Pakistan from West Pakistan was a monumental catastrophe which happened due to various factors that had accumulated over the past many years and that the effects of that tragedy had lingered on till this time.
Addressing the key issues that led to the separation of East Pakistan, Executive Director of Institute of Business Administration (IBA) Karachi Dr S. Akbar Zaidi said the country was doomed from the beginning as West Pakistan had prejudice and racism against Bengalis.
They were looked down upon on the basis of colour and height and were kept marginalised, he added.
Dr Moonis Ahmar, meritorious professor at the department of International Relations and former dean faculty of social sciences at the University of Karachi, highlighted the plight of stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh, who are languishing in camps for decades.
He said there were 66 camps in Bangladesh where thousands of ‘forgotten’ Pakistanis were living in a poor condition for the past 52 years as Pakistan had failed to repatriate them.
He said efforts had been made to bring them back but those efforts were not successful. In 1988, the government of Pakistan took an important step and established a fund for the repatriation and rehabilitation of the stranded Pakistanis in Bangladesh with the help of The Muslim World League, an international Islamic NGO, Dr Ahmar said.
However, that process was stopped and the fund of millions of rupees — now in the Habib Bank Limited and has multiplied over the years into billions of rupees — was frozen by the United States over allegations that it would allegedly be used in terror financing, he added.
He said the people stranded there also complained that Pakistan accepted millions of Afghan as well as Bengali refugees, but they, the loyal Pakistanis, remained forgotten.
The way out now was that the frozen funds be taken out and utilised to repatriate the stranded Pakistanis, or, if that’s not possible, to help them provide an honourable way of living in Bangladesh with equal rights and citizenship, Dr Ahmar suggested.
Addressing fault lines in Pakistan’s nation building experiment, Dr Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, director and associate professor at the School of Politics and International Relations, Quaid-i-Azam University, said nation building was mostly seen and practiced in Pakistan, as was many other countries, as manufacturing homogeneity, or unity, through hegemonic practices, in which cultures, myths, symbols, and histories were manufactured with the intention of homogenising social and ethnic diversity in the service of nation building. He said:
But this is where the problem lies because ethnic identities and social diversity are denied and suppressed in such hegemonic practices.
He added that all this had been happening in Pakistan since its inception and contributed mainly to its disintegration.
Therefore, he said, Pakistan needed to normalise diversity, multilingualism and multiculturalism and it was high time that these problems were addressed.
He said it was very important for a country to be self-reflecting and self-critical for the purpose of nation building but such was not the case with Pakistan as the political leaders and establishment of the country always shifted the blame onto others and never accepted criticism.
Dr Farhan also said that in Pakistan, the issue of majoritarianism had also become a major challenge where the majority was afraid of monitories and tried to keep them suppressed.
Zafar Shafique, member of the council of PIIA and CEO of Paradise International Group of Companies, discussed the economic effects on companies, institutes and people after the fall of Dhaka.
He said Pakistan faced various economic problems after the secession. There was industrial and economic disruption, loss of employment and termination of international contracts, all resulting in severe loss of profit.
Despite being bestowed with enormous resources including coal, copper, gold, human resource and access to vast ocean, Pakistan has failed to harness the benefits, its resources could offer to boost its economy. Although, there have been numerous causes behind its ill performance in utilization of its natural resources in national prosperity but geographical factors contribute the most to it. First of all, being located at the heart of hostile neighbors particularly, India and Afghanistan, it has been compelled to divert its attention on its security. Moreover, by virtue of its proximity with China and being in vicinity of Russia it has remained as transit route for global powers for their vested interests. Its mountainous terrain, climate change vulnerability, poor infrastructural development, instable region, terrorism and growing population have turned what could be a geographical blessing into geographical curse. Resultantly, Pakistan is suffering at every front which has hindered the economic prosperity by hijacking its upward flight.
Pakistan a land rich in resources: An Overview
“While history has been very unkind to Pakistan, its geography has been its greatest benefits” {Stephen Phillips Cohen}
Pakistan is a land of natural resources, its four provinces provide a vivid landscape and vast minerals, underneath their respective land. It has been a fourth populous country with more than sixty percent population below the age of 30 years. For instance, Balochistan encompasses dry terrain and covers one of the largest reserves of Gold, Copper, coal and other precious metals in the areas of Chaghi, Rekodik, Mach, Naushki and Dalbandin. Similarly, this provinces became the first to equip Pakistan with energy resources like gas from Sui in 1952.
Moreover, Sindh accounts as a vibrant land for agriculture and is endowed with world 9th largest coal reserves in Tharparkar. Likewise the Kirthar range is also known to be house of gypsum, limestone and other minerals. Besides, Sindh nowadays is the key indigenous source of gas for domestic use of entire Pakistan. Also, these two provinces make vast 1046km coast line that opens it to world and blue economy from south.
Simultaneously, Punjab and KPK are the house of salt, marble and precious stones respectively. Overall, Pakistan geography is blessed with the golden sparrow which has been restricted by its very neighbors and its overall mismanagement.
Geographical Factors hindering the utilization of natural resources in national prosperity.
Pakistan and its Neighboring Countries a) Surrounded by hostile and uneven neighbors:
Pakistan located at the crossroads of Asia is connecting point for entire region. It can open the landlocked Central Asian Republics to the world and provide the shortest route to enhance connectivity. Similarly, its multitude of natural resources can also get way to world`s market, fulfil indigenous requirements and boost Pakistan`s economy; however, this geo-political potential and endowment of natural resources are yet to be exploited to attain sustainable development. As this very geography is hindering the utilization of natural resources and strategic location in achieving the peace and prosperity.
Indian evil aspirations and destabilizing tactics against Pakistan:
India has been the focal point for foreign policy of Pakistan, Sardar Patel right after independence remarked that ‘Pakistan will crawl back to rejoin India’ and India since then has been lobbying against Pakistan and has diverted its attention towards security and defense of the state. Moreover, India is sponsoring terrorism and igniting separatist elements particularly in the province of Balochistan which is land of hidden treasure. Balochistan`s Gawadar a deep sea port is golden sparrow to make Pakistan a transit hub for entire region. But India`s destabilizing tactics which have been substantiated by the arrest of Indian Naval officer spying and financing terrorism in Balochistan.
Unstable Afghanistan: a Pandora box of regional instability:
Afghanistan, the western neighbor has also been a key hurdle in exploitation of natural resources. Afghanistan’s destabilization has always preoccupied Pakistan with plethora of other socio-economic ills including Kilashankov culture, smuggling of narcotics, and disturbance in social fabric, refugee crisis, terrorism, and security concerns. Similarly, the ripples of Afghanistan conundrum and its instability have incurred huge cost on Pakistan. By
virtue of being Afghanistan’s neighbor Pakistan was left with no option by the USA but to be front ally in global war against terror resulting in a complete mess in social, economic and political terms.
Transit hub for cold war rivals:
This location has always served as the transit route for global powers, during the time of British India, this location was considered pivotal for great game in between Soviet Russia and British. Simultaneously, after independence the cold war rivals the USA and Russia stuck here when Washington joined hands with Pakistan to push the red army back in Afghanistan. Overall, this location besides being land of opportunities has also been an open ground for global players to contend for their vested interest but in disguise it has left Pakistan to lag behind in prosperity.
Sanctioned Iran: a bottleneck towards connectivity:
Iran on western southern west is a fluctuating friend, although we enjoy good relations with infrequent border clashes but Iran being under strict sanctions of West has been a hurdle in attaining a sustainable connectivity and interdependence towards Europe. Hence, this unsound Iran has been matter of concern and has diverted Pakistan’s attention from harnessing its resources to improve its economy.
Giant China: An opportunity under surveillance of west:
There is no denying fact that China is all-weather friend and a great contributor to Pakistan’s economy. This rising superpower has always stood by with Pakistan in every situation, the launch of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is nothing but a lifeline for Pakistan’s economy. It offers win-win situation to both and has the potential to uplift Pakistan status by making it a transit route for entire Asia. However, the USA and India having their nefarious designs against China’s rise have been propagating propaganda against CPEC by naming it debt trap. Similarly, the separatist elements are ignited in the province of Balochistan to sabotage the progress on this giant project
Climate change vulnerable country:
Pakistan is among top climate change vulnerable countries, it has witnessed more than 152 extreme weather events since the turn of 21st century. The mega floods of 2010, heat waves of 2015-16 and super floods of 2022 are instances in point; besides, droughts, famine, locust attacks, glacial melts, erratic rains, low yield, sea-erosion, water scarcity have been norm of day. Overall this hydra-headed monster has diverted Pakistan’s resources to unwanted and unpredictable events for which Pakistan has been unable to invest in exploitation of natural resources subsequently lagging behind in national prosperity
Mountainous terrain: An infrastructural deficit:
The landscape of Pakistan is characterized by formidable mountainous terrain surrounded by Himalaya, Karakoram, Hindukush and Takt-Sulaiman range where these majestic peaks contribute the breathtaking beauty of the country, they also present significant challenges in unraveling the mysteries of nature in exploitation of natural resources. Moreover, this has been unfortunate that Pakistan has been unable to establish a viable infrastructure throughout the country resulting in inability of Pakistan in utilization of its untapped resources for economic growth.
Terrorism and Security concerns:
The menace of terrorism has hit Pakistan hard. The rise of non-state actors and their subsequent presence in Afghanistan and free movement through porous Durand line. The fight against terrorism has cost Pakistan billion and thousands of innocents hence, security has been the prime concern and a lot of resources are being exhausted to curb this. Consequently, Pakistan has been distracted from the path of industrialization, and resource extraction rather because of this danger the existing industry is shifting abroad.
Over-population a time ticking bomb:
Pakistan’s population has grown considerably and it has been fourth populous country with no infrastructure, pitiable industrial sector, poor governance and lack of employment opportunities. This rapidly growing population has been a liability on already depleting resources and Pakistan has been pre-occupied with accommodating this huge population and is unable to explore and exploit new resources to cut on its imports and increase exports. This has given birth to new spiral of deficits.
Power mess in Indian ocean: A coastal liability
Indian Ocean is in the south of Pakistan and according to Zbigniew Brezezinski ‘An arc of crisis stretches along the shores of the Indian Ocean’ it is because big powers are eyeing to the untapped resources and key chock points of Indian Ocean and the great game of Indian Ocean is already in play. India in Indo-pacific Strategy of the USA has been signified as the strategic partner to contain China and the militarization of Indian Ocean by activating Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and AUKUS has been a security concern for Pakistan. The campaign of empowering India against China has been a serious security concern increasing the security dilemma pushing Pakistan towards arms race to ensure its security. Hence, with these state of affairs the power mess in Indian Ocean has been a coastal liability for Pakistan.
Deconstructing the concept of geographical curse with respect to Pakistan: A Critical perspective.
There is no denying the fact that Pakistan could use its geography as a boon and could be among top performing economies of the world keeping in view its geostrategic location. Pakistan holding the crown of being a junction point between the resource-efficient and resource-deficient countries in the South Asian region. However this has not been the case the geostrategic location has been turned out to be geographical curse and Pakistan has been the prisoner of its own geography. The nefarious designs and porous borders in the east and west of country preoccupied it badly and posed serious existential threats distracting it from attain the path to sustainable development by utilizing its enormous natural resources for its national prosperity.
Conclusion
To conclude, states can change their friends and foes but they cannot change their neighbors. Similarly, Pakistan is a potential country, a critical juncture for connecting the Asian region and opening the gates of interdependence between the energy haves and energy have-nots and offer its own vast natural resources including gold, coal, copper, and precious minerals to secure not only economic gains but also sustainable peace and prosperity.
However, evil intentions of surrounding countries particularly India and Afghanistan and continuous instability in the latter states has caused huge losses to Pakistan and have redirected entire attention towards security and defense of borders. Resultantly, this very geography has been a curse as Pakistan is helpless to fully exploit its resources and is heavily engaged in security and diplomacy related issues.
The closed-door dialogue on March 25, 2000 between US President Bill Clinton and Gen Pervez Musharraf, which is included in former Senator Javed Jabbar’s recent political memoir — A General in Particular: Interactions with Pervez Musharraf — became the topic of discussion at the book’s launch at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs here on Thursday in the presence of Dr Masuma Hasan.
Reflecting on the aspects of that dialogue and the prospects for the future of Pakistan-US relations, Senator Jabbar, who was part of the cabinet of Gen Musharraf until 2000, said that when we talk about the two countries, we are talking about two very different countries.
“Our relationship will always be in the foreseeable future. A relationship of inequality. A bilateral relationship in which the two are not equal but then that applies to every other country of the world. The US is so far ahead of other countries in terms of economy, in terms of the military that no country today, even China, is able to say that they can match the US in every respect. So, if every other country on the planet will have an unequal relationship with the USA, the challenge for Pakistan becomes how do we manage that inequality? It is not as if it is a hopeless situation. Other countries, which are also not equal to the US, have also shown that they can manage this inequality in a way that works for them.
“There are also symmetries when there are so many asymmetries. In the United Nations General Assembly, we are two equal nation states. There is also symmetry in the fact that the US and Pakistan are one of only nine nuclear powers of the world out of 200 nation states and that’s not to be disregarded,” he said, adding: “Our nuclear power does give us a semblance of symmetry with the US” and moreover quite positively:
We are nowhere near as powerful as the US but demeaning ourselves and losing self respect and self confidence is one of the worst things that we can do to ourselves when we are dealing with the US. We are very capable with tremendous potential. There is so much good in Pakistan
Moving to the dialogue between Gen Musharraf and President Clinton in 2000, he said that before the US president came he was the only one to oppose his visit due to the US ambassador’s outrageous conditions such as no photographs, eight hours, addressing the nation, etc. But he was overruled. Clinton was here to convince Gen Musharraf to spare ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif. The meeting, which was to go on for only 35 minutes, went on till 85 minutes.
“Musharraf began tentatively but he very quickly acquired confidence as he spoke. Clinton was also very stiff in the initial part but lo and behold, within 15 minutes of the dialogue, he actually started to relax and smile. The meeting proceeded towards cordiality rather than tension. Conversation moved very smoothly, there were chuckles even. The president’s aides were surprised that the president was enjoying a conversation with a military dictator. It was the charm of Pakistan, obviously. Even after the 85 minutes, the two leaders wanted an exclusive one-on-one meeting.
“I was not a part of that meeting but I suspect that General Musharraf must have conveyed to him obviously the need to avoid the death sentence or execution of Nawaz Sharif and he must have kept in mind the fact that not too long ago another US president Carter had appealed to General Ziaul Haq not to execute Z.A. Bhutto and that general had ignored not just the US president but virtually all other leaders who had also appealed for Z.A. Bhutto’s life. So Clinton’s wanting assurance from Musharraf was perfectly understandable. Musharraf, from what we know of him, did not ever have the temperament of being a cold-blooded, callous kind of killer. He was not built that way. His psyche was not of that kind,” he said.
Former federal minister and former senator Javed Jabbar on Thursday launched his latest political memoir “A General in Particular: Intonations with Pervez Musharraf” at the Pakistan Institute of International Affairs, revealing the closed-door dialogue between former American present Bill Clinton and the late former president and army chief Gen Musharraf.
Addressing the book launch ceremony, Jabbar uncovered every aspect of Pakistan and US relations and also shed light on the dialogue and prospects for the future of both countries. “We should stop supplicating before the US. We have to establish strong diplomatic ties with the US rather than demeaning ourselves,” said Jabbar, adding that the reality is that the US helped us on various occasions but not that much which we were expecting.
He suggested that we should make collective efforts to transform Pakistan into a strong and stable state, and we have to stop blaming India, IMF and others.
Highlighting the role of the military, he said that the military has strong interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan, but this is not an exception, as the militaries of power countries also have a say in foreign relations and policies of their countries.
Talking about former US president Bill Clinton’s visit to Pakistan in 2000, Jabbar said that India had tried to create hurdles in the visit of the US president to Pakistan. For this, India even staged an attack on the Sikh community in Kashmir and started blaming Pakistan, but that idea didn’t work.
He said that before joining the camp of the war against terror, Clinton held a series of meetings with Musharraf and discussed various issues in a very tentative way. The former US president, at that time, informed Musharraf that terrorists can pose a serious to Pakistan. “A meeting between Clinton and Musharraf was scheduled for 35 minutes only, but when it started both the leaders took around 85 minutes ignoring all the reminders to end the meeting.”
Jabbar said Musharraf had no intention to execute Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif because he knew that General Zia had committed a mistake by executing Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
The former senator, while speaking about Musharraf’s progressive polices, said he brought massive reforms to the electoral system and one of them was that the minorities got the right to contest elections on general seats. This was the reason that three people from minority groups in Sindh won the general elections against their opponents.
He said Musharraf also tried to strengthen the Election Commission of Pakistan and introduced local governments. In addition, he said, the former president increased the number of seats for women and established several cultural centers. Above all, private TV channels flourished during the Musharraf era. “The electronic media enjoyed unprecedented freedom in Musharraf era.”
Jabbar, however, said that many unfortunate things also happened during the Musharraf regime. They were the tragedy of Lal Masjid, the dismissal of then chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, the issue of missing persons, and the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti in a military operation. “Musharraf had no intention to kill Bugti.”
He said Musharraf was a president in uniform and also some of the generals became part of the cabinet, which created difficulties for him and the people around him. “I joined Musharraf because I thought there was a possibility to implement something positive and make reforms. I believe that Musharraf was a man with a constructive personality.”
In our landmark 75th Anniversary Conference, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah explained that Pakistan is strategically situated on the map of the world on Pakistan and the Changing Global Order in the PC Hotel, so it has a significant role to play in international politics.
“With access to the Arabian Sea, its Gwadar Port is important to Pakistan due to its prime location. It’s also important to China, Pakistan’s all-weather friend that has made massive investments to provide world-class facilities of docking at the port, thereby increasing the existing economic and strategic interdependence between the two countries.”
The Sindh CM stated this on Wednesday while speaking our 75th Anniversary Conference on Pakistan and the Changing Global Order. The CM said that climate change could be an existential threat to countries like Pakistan. “Overflowing rivers, melting sea ice, food insecurities — all are threatening our future and creating new tensions among competing powers in the world,” he said, adding that experts were now studying the convergence of climate change and national security.
He said that in recent years they had seen the shift of geopolitical power from the West to the East, and had witnessed the rise of Asia, especially through ASEAN, a resilient Africa, and more importantly, China with its expanding outreach through its Belt and Road Initiative.
He said the PIIA through its conference had put on the table every issue of contemporary importance in the changing global order, as the moot would be addressed by a galaxy of scholars and diplomats from Pakistan and abroad.
He added that it was a good decision that the subject related to peace in the fluid global order would be issued at the end of the conference. “The changing world order will take time to find a new equilibrium,” he said.
The CM said that the world was mired in conflicts and divisions for reasons which were historical and geographical. “Hence, a concerted approach to all issues and challenges within and outside Pakistan is the need of the hour,” he suggested.
“We ourselves are beneficiaries of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor [CPEC], which will bring vast economic benefits to our country,” he said, adding that CPEC highlighted the significance of the development of the Gwadar Port for the economy of Pakistan.
The CM said that Pakistan’s own region was beset with unsettled issues. “The unresolved Kashmir issue and the unrelenting brutality of the Indian government against the Kashmiri people is a cause of universal concern,” he said, adding that their suffering continued unabated and so did their resolve to decide their own future.
Shah said that stability in Afghanistan was a challenge for all players in the region. “Pakistan faces its own challenges not only of border security but also of water and food security,” he said.
He told the audience that Pakistan was the fifth largest country in the world in terms of population, and had been an active and progressive power on the world stage. He said that in the changing global order, it was one of the nine declared nuclear powers. “It’s a responsible nuclear power that has always used nuclear energy for peaceful purposes,” he added.
Even as a young nation, Pakistan stood by countries struggling against colonial rule and lobbied for their independence from their colonial masters, the CM said. He added that it is a member of many treaties dealing with support to developing and least developed countries and humanitarian laws. Pakistan is one of the foremost providers of peacekeepers to United Nations forces, he pointed out.
He also said that Pakistan was a member of intergovernmental organisations such as the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The CM said that he was glad that the PIIA conference addressed the issue of climate change. “Many countries of the world, including Pakistan, which is not responsible for the emerging climate catastrophe, are afflicted with the effects of climate change,” he said, adding that experts were now studying the convergence of climate change and national security.
The CM said that climate change had ravaged the country during the recent massive flooding. “Bringing relief to people displaced by the floods and made homeless has been a major challenge for my government. But we have put our hearts and souls into the efforts to retrieve their homes and livelihoods and to rehabilitate them,” he added.
Shah said that his government had been a leading force in enacting progressive legislation in many spheres. “We have given legal protection to women, the minorities, the marginalised and children,” he said, adding that over the last few years the Sindh government had adopted many pro-women laws.
According to the CM, Sindh is the first province to enact a law against domestic violence, ‘The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act, 2013’, and the landmark ‘The Sindh Child Marriages Restraint Act, 2013’. The provincial chief executive hoped that the recommendations of the conference would help in the formulating of policies which could help resolve the contemporary world problems.
‘Dissolving PA at whim’
Talking to media persons after attending the conference, Shah said the constitution does empower the chief executive of a province to dissolve the provincial assembly, but such a power can only be exercised in extreme conditions as described in the constitution.
The CM said the constitution did not grant unbridled powers to the chief executive of a province to dissolve the PA at his whim just for creating a political or constitutional crisis or void in the country.
“There’s definitely a provision in the constitution empowering a chief minister to dissolve the assembly, but it shouldn’t be the case that a CM one fine morning wakes up from sleep and all of a sudden makes up his mind to take such an action or else he decides to dissolve the assembly after being asked so by someone else for creating a political crisis in the country,” he said.
He told the media persons that the constitution did define the circumstances in which a CM could take the extreme action of dissolving the PA. These conditions are: either the CM thinks he is unable to govern in the province and run its affairs as per the constitution or he has lost the confidence of the majority of the members of the assembly.
He hoped that the CMs of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also very well knew that the assembly could only be dissolved in such circumstances. Shah, however, said that no constitutional crisis would be created in the country if the CM of a province decided to dissolve the PA.
The Sindh CM hoped that better sense would prevail and no CM would opt for the dissolving of his assembly before the completion of its tenure. “If in case an assembly is dissolved, there won’t be any issue for us because we’ll contest the elections,” he said.
Replying to a question, the CM maintained that the official plane of the Sindh government had not been used to bring the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s imprisoned Senator Azam Khan Swati to the province.
He said the concerned political stakeholders should sit together to find solutions to serious economic problems faced by the country due to a number of global factors.
Responding to another query, he agreed that the natural gas shortage faced by the industries of Karachi was a major issue, as it could lead to the closure of industrial units and increase joblessness in the province. The chief minister said that he was in touch with the relevant federal authorities to get the issue resolved at the earliest.
Prime minister Benazir Bhutto visited Bangladesh in 1989. She had asked for that visit, which the then Bangladesh President Irshad accepted …
“The independence day of Bangladesh March 26, 1971 and Dec 16 is seen by that country as the day of liberation. In Pakistan around this time the mood is generally sombre with reflection of the past,” said former foreign secretary Riaz Khokhar on Thursday.
“We have to acknowledge that the Bengali leaders made enormous contributions to the making of Pakistan, which was also acknowledged by Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. The resolution of Pakistan was also moved by A.K. Fazlul Haq. If Jinnah were alive and if he had been asked the worst decisions of Pakistan, he would have said that it was to refuse and deny the results of the 1970 elections along with deploring the action that was taken on March 24, 1971 by West Pakistan,” he said.
The former diplomat said he is often asked about his best assignments during his career to which he has to say from 1986 to 1989 when he served as ambassador of Pakistan to Bangladesh. “It was the best time. I got to meet all leaders, intellectuals, people in the media and civil society. We did discuss serious matters, but objectively and without anger though the differences of 1971 are still there,” he said.
“As a former diplomat, I’m not blaming any political party but every time the Awami League is in power, we have issues. The government under the Awami League has raised serious allegations and questions. They also demand an apology from Pakistan for the atrocities of 1971. But an apology is not that simple. The 1974 documents clearly address deep regret of events and atrocities. Bangladesh demands war reparation, distribution of assets, etc.
Experts discuss future of Islamabad-Dhaka relations at PIIA conference
“While I was the ambassador in Bangladesh, former late prime minister Benazir Bhutto visited Bangladesh in 1989. She had asked for that visit, which the then Bangladesh president Irshad accepted. The issues did come up but such things cannot be decided just like that. Such issues are an impediment to the progress and relations of both countries.
“It is sad that despite sharing the history of 1947, there’s so little interaction with Bangladesh here. The culture of Bangladesh is extremely rich in art, music, dance, etc. Why not have cultural exchanges? Pakistan would be happy to have an exchange programme for students. We can also offer hundreds of scholarships in various fields and Bangladesh, too, can reciprocate,” he said.
‘Let’s resume communication’
“Yes, the impediments are serious but there is no reason why we can’t be talking. There is an absence of debate not at the public and private level or the diplomatic level. But Pakistan and Bangladesh relations do have a future. I appeal, let’s resume communications. We have much to share and much to learn from each other,” he concluded.
Earlier, while reminding the significance of Dec 16, 1971, PIIA’s chairperson Dr Masuma Hasan said that it was when Pakistan was dismembered and Bangladesh formally became an independent and sovereign state. “The date is etched in the minds of millions of people in Pakistan and Bangladesh. History has few parallels to the events of 1971, which led to the second partition of the subcontinent and changed the political landscape of South Asia,” she said.
“In the last 50 years, much water has flown under the bridges of the Indus and Brahmaputra. The global and regional landscape has changed, with a multi-polar world, the phenomenal rise and outreach of China, an assertive India, and the continuing role of the United States. In the regional context, rising from the ashes, Bangladesh has made remarkable economic progress. Whatever the irritants of the past, the people of the two countries share a common historical identity, strive for the same values of democracy, the rule of law, human rights, and freedom of expression. Both countries are members of Saarc and other international organisations and they vote on the same side on many international issues. For the future of Pakistan-Bangladesh relations, there are many positive trends,” she said.
‘We didn’t leave like thieves’
Syed Sikander Mehdi, former Karachi University professor and chairperson of the Department of International Relations, said that the personal memories of West Pakistanis who went to East Pakistan for business and educational purposes are soft. These people still miss Bangladesh. But their memories are not recorded here. “The people from East Pakistan who settled down here before the break-up or after 1971 also have oral memories that have not been published. I did my schooling, college and university education in Dhaka. I was an activist in my student life. I remember us students protesting the Vietnam war, the dictatorship of Ayub Khan. Our family lived in the Bengali area till our migration from Dhaka in late 1972. I had very close relations with my Bengali teachers before and after the military operation. I had a job, my father had a job, too and we had no economic compulsion. When I told my teachers that we were leaving, they hosted a dinner for my family. So we didn’t leave like thieves. But after coming here we saw a headline in the newspaper, which read Bihari na khappay. We cannot wish away the past but we need to write more and talk more about all this,” he said.
Former Professor at the Department of International Relations, University of Dhaka, M Shahiduzzaman said that he was a former student of Sikander Mehdi. “We were sad when he left. Many years later when my students and myself visited the University of Karachi we found him like he has always been, a human being whose soul lies with us,” he said.
Meritorious Professor of International Relations and former Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Karachi, Dr Moonis Ahmar, observed that Pakistan and Bangladesh relations were seeing a paradigm shift in 1974 with the signing of the agreement in Delhi but then this paradigm shift stopped.
“We have been moving two steps forward and four steps backward,” he said, while adding that Sheikh Hasina Wajid, the daughter of the man denied premiership here, should be invited over and asked to address a joint session of the Pakistan parliaments. And Pakistani PM Imran Khan can do the same when he visits Bangladesh.
Ambassador Rafiuzzaman Siddiqui and Dr Raunaq Jahan also spoke.
Published in Dawn, 17 December 2021, written by Shazia Hasan
‘The Future of Pakistan-US Relations’ was the topic of a discussion organised by The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (PIIA) on Saturday. Delving into the subject, former Pakistan ambassador to the US and UK, and Permanent Representative to the UN in New York, Dr Maleeha Lodhi said that after the Cold War, after Russia’s leaving Afghanistan and now after the US pullout from Afghanistan, it is the third time for Pakistan and USA to be redefining of relations.
“Throughout these years there have been many highs and lows with benign disengagements in between. Our relations have been driven by world events and geopolitical storms. And even at times of close alliances, there has always been an elephant in the room such as India or Pakistan’s nuclear programme,” she said.
“Whenever Pakistan has sought US support during regional conflicts, it has been disappointed by Washington’s stance,” she added.
“The US has always seen Pakistan as a tactical player. The ties we had or have were principally a function of America’s war in Afghanistan. The US had an Afghanistan policy but not a Pakistan policy,” she pointed out. “Sometimes this convergence worked in mutual benefit testified by the joint struggle of both countries during the Russian war in Afghanistan,” she pointed out.
She said that now that the global environment is in a state of flux there is a predominant trend of competition rather than cooperation.
“The reality today is the standoff between USA and China. America has a policy of restraining China. And Pakistan wants to avoid this crossfire or confrontation. Its a tough act. Pakistan will not be a part of it as it wants future ties with both countries.
“Meanwhile, US interest is in insuring Afghanistan doesn’t again become a base for terrorist groups. It wants Pakistan’s help in this regard, to counter terrorism and this is what future relations between Pakistan and USA will be based on. So there will be cooperation in only some areas,” Ms Lodhi pointed out.
“Already the mood on Capitol Hill is very negative about Pakistan on account of the perception that Islamabad’s support for the Taliban over the years was a contributing factor to the US debacle there. The Biden administration has not said this but the view is prevalent in US policy circles. It has built up a toxic environment in Pakistan-US relationship,” she added.
“Afghanistan’s future will influence, even shape Pakistan-US relations in the near term. Another factor that will affect the relationship concerns the dynamics of the triangular US-Pakistan-India relationship. Islamabad recognises that India has a pivotal role in Washington’s Asia policy and is in fact America’s strategic priority. It is not the growing relationship between Washington and Delhi that concerns Islamabad but the security impact that their strategic cooperation may have on Pakistan, the augmentation of India’s defence and strategic capabilities obviously has implications for Pakistan’s security,” she pointed out.
“If a key element of US’s strategy to counter China is India, this also impacts its relations with Pakistan. The US has always supported India and hardened its posture towards Pakistan, almost encouraging India to be more aggressive towards our country,” she said.
Former Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Geneva, Zamir Akram, Dr Adil Najam and PIIA chairperson Dr Masuma Hasan also spoke.
Greetings from The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs
You are cordially invited to participate in our webinar onThe Passing of Syed Ali Shah Geelani and the Future of the Kashmiris’ Struggle on Wednesday, 15 September 2021 at 3:00 p.m. (Pakistan Standard Time).
Speakers:
Sardar Masood Khan, former President, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Afzal Khan, member of the House of Commons, UK
Naseema Wani, former Member of Legislative Assembly, Azad Jammu and Kashmir
News article: webinar on the topic ‘Afghanistan at the Crossroads’
Anatol Lieven, senior research fellow, Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Washington, was the first of the three main speakers. He said he was a journalist with the Mujahideen in the late 1980s and then briefly on the government side. He has visited Afghanistan intermittently since then, so his association with the country goes back 34 years. In his view what is happening seems to be in accordance with certain basic patterns of modern Afghan history; above all, the failure to establish a modern state, whether by Afghans themselves or outside forces. Mr Lieven said: “It is my sense that the current Afghan state is finished. It may last for longer than some people expect, but according to independent analysts 197 district centres have fallen to the Taliban since May.
Much will depend upon whether the US will continue airstrikes to defend the main cities, but I don’t think that will be enough. If patterns of Afghan history are anything to go by, the collapse of the state, when it comes, may come very quickly and unexpectedly. The reason is, as we saw in 1992, Afghan society is [in] a kind of process of constant conversation and negotiation. In the late 1980s it was common knowledge that there were endless negotiations between themselves and local state garrisons.”He said, on the other hand, we will see in certain areas that certain ethno-religious minority groups, notably the Hazaras and the Panjshiris, will not surrender to the Taliban. Therefore, the subsequent history of Afghanistan will be determined by the following questions:
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE TO OUR JOURNAL PUBLISHED IN KARACHI SINCE 1948
This Blog is part of the social media and online publishing project at The Pakistan Institute of International Affairs. Unlike most other institutes in the country, we do not receive any foreign funding and are completely free from external influence.
Email pakistanhorizon@hotmail.co.uk for further information in relation to any queries you may have. Thanks, Editors.
View Pakistan Horizon's profile
Pakistan Horizon 