Dear Readers,
The government’s announcement on January 14, 2022 and the officially launching of the abridged 48 pages of the National Security Policy (NSP) 2022-2026 generated a great deal of public debate. It has been criticized for not having been inclusive in its formulation, many alleged that the document was prepared without any consultative or interactive process with Parliament and other relevant stakeholders. The govt on the other hand says it developed the Policy after due deliberation including multiple consultations with official stakeholders that consisted of Federal Ministers, 120 experts, 300 students, and 600 people from all walks of life, it is highly unfortunate that the main thrust in our country, particularly from the Opposition political parties and also a motivated section of the media, is raising a hue and cry over the lack of political consensus building on the NSP instead of analyzing or dissecting the contents and the direction of the NSP. They also know that most countries do not even bother to make public their NSPs, in sharp contrast Pakistan’s government has ensured that a sizeable part of the NSP is now in the public domain, while that section of the document has been kept confidential that deals with extremely sensitive national security issues, and rightly so. This in itself is a bold and strategic step that opens up and for the first time, and expands the security domain for public debate, a domain which was always considered out of bounds. It is also a fact that the Executive branch is not bound by any law to generate consensus with stakeholders and that it has the right to formulate policies.
Notwithstanding the hue and cry from Opposition parties and others, the positives that are evident in the NSP must be welcomed. For one, hundreds of experts were consulted in the process and the NSP has also gone through strict scrutiny at the federal, provincial and civil-military levels. Unfortunately, when the process was eventually tabled in an in-camera briefing at a Parliamentary Committee on National Security, the Opposition members, despite being invited, chose to boycott the proceedings. The policy has been in the making since 2014 and was finally approved on Dec 28 last year.
A very positive aspect of the NSP is that it is citizen-centric, a first by the sitting government in Pakistan. The most essential task for government agencies is to deliver services to citizens, this should be at the heart of what most agencies should do. Tasks as simple as paying taxes, renewing driving licenses, and applying for benefits are often the most tangible interactions citizens have with their government. Consequently services are therefore critical in shaping trust in and perceptions of the public sector. Citizens of today are more aware than at any time in the past so it should not be too surprising if they expect more transparent, accessible, and responsive services from the public sector. And those expectations are rising with the passage of time. Therefore the NSP is designed to be more responsive and alert to the aspirations and needs of the citizens.
The NSP has put economic security at the forefront of its national security vision. Launching the document, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Pakistan has been in dire need of a strategy that ensures the protection of its people and guards economic interests and that a country without a stable economy cannot be considered secure. “Inclusive growth means not only to uplift the poor people but also the neglected areas. In such a case every common man becomes a stakeholder to protect the state. The biggest security is when people stand behind the state for its protection,” the PM said. Pakistan’s National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yusuf said that this was an aspirational document a part of which has been released for people to know about it and the world to know that Pakistan wishes to pursue peace diplomacy with other countries. The Policy looks to address the long standing higher foreign exchange outflow over inflow through a dedicated focus on export oriented foreign directive investments and remittances. It also aims to remove disparities in economic development between various regions of the country. The document recognizes Pakistan’s support for Afghanistan as a potential gateway for greater economic connectivity with the Central Asian States. While the intent behind the NSP is laudable, the reality of the situation is that Pakistan cannot hope to achieve economic security or attain a decent degree of economic sovereignty unless it severs ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Consider that on Jan 13 the National Assembly approved a Supplementary Finance Bill worth Rs.360 million and rushed a Bill through that gives absolute autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan, both moves are aimed at meeting two conditions demanded by the IMF for revival of its US$6 bn funding programme. The negative inflationary impacts of the bill on the low-middle income segments of the population cannot be overstated.
The National Security Policy has come at an opportune time in Pakistan’s history; it is a step in the right direction that promises to reconstruct the national security roadmap of Pakistan. The NSP is also quite clear about present and future threats that Pakistan is faced with in its neighborhood. These challenges of cross-domain coercion will have to be addressed if Pakistan wants to achieve success over adversaries that are bent upon harming our nation using whatever means that suit them. For economic security which is the cornerstone of NSP it is sine qua non to go beyond what has been the traditional national security approach of Pakistan. Sadly today, Pakistan society is slowly but surely drifting towards extremism, a dangerous trend by any yardstick and with tolerance and acceptance diminishing quite rapidly this nation might very well descend into dissent and discord. The rising incidents of violence against minorities, particularly Hindus and Christians, have in the past spawned incidents of mob violence and even public lynching. All this is extremely detrimental to Pakistan’s international image, among other things this further dampens the prospects of international investment in Pakistan. Practical measures and special focus need to be taken to transform Pakistan into a diverse, tolerant and pluralistic fraternity.
One positive aspect of the NSP is that it is subject to an annual review process, which means an ongoing monitoring system will see how the policy is being implemented, in case bottlenecks are found, these will have to be modified/ eradicated and further improvements or enhancements can then be worked out. All in all, this document sets out a roadmap to curtail sociopolitical and economic menaces. In line with the practical implementation, the Government has produced a comprehensive document by placing human/individual security vis-à-vis economic progress at the core. The NSP outlines the country’s many challenges and opportunities for the first time, and to counter these the government would be able to quickly refer to the Policy guidelines in the future.
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