Rainbow in Every Cloud
By Farhana Mohamed, PhD
Los Angeles, CA
The December 16 terrorist attack at the Army Public School, Peshawar, resulted in unprecedented loss of 122 innocent school children, two teachers, and 20 administrative staff. Of course, there is always a silver lining in the darkest cloud - the heart-wrenching tragedy of December 16 has also resulted in several positive outcomes.
Shortly after the Peshawar School attack, government organized an all party conference (APC) followed by the approval of the historical National Action Plan on December 24, 2014. Despite some reservations, if properly implemented, NAP has the potential of greatly eradicating the menace of terrorism from the Pakistani soil. The salient features of NAP include acknowledging no distinction between “good” and “bad” militants, enforcing executions to convicted terrorists (not going well with the European Union), setting-up of special military courts for two years for speedy trials (being criticized by the lawyers and civil society), cutting the source of funding for all terrorist organizations and banning their operation with different names, registration of all madrassahs (religious organizations are up on arms against this provision), and expediting the return of IDPs (displaced due to successful army action in the North Waziristan).
Another positive outcome of the APSP tragedy was the announcement by Imran Khan during the December APC that his party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) will end its almost four-month long “Naya Pakistan Dharna (sit-in)” in Islamabad. This action provided a face-saving exit to Imran and the PTI and a sigh of relief for the Nawaz Sharif government as well as a rare building of solid support to the nation’s stance against terrorism.
While the dharnas in Islamabad, which started about August 14, 2014 by both Imran Khan and D. Tahir-ul Qadri, raised some legitimate concerns, their modus operandi was a big source of disappointment. There was no consideration by the protesters that the rowdy sit-ins in Islamabad badly tarnished Pakistan’s image; investor fear already high due to precarious security situation, further escalated with the aggressive attitude of these two political parties; hostile and derogatory stance of both parties toward state institutions was incomprehensible, and the sheer street chaos resulted in cancelation of trips of foreign dignitaries including those of the Presidents of China, Sri Lanka, and Maldives. While Dr Qadri’s Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) and PTI had to call off their sit-ins by November and December, respectively, both parties eventually showed solid support to NAP and other counter-terrorism measures.
In the true spirit of implementation of NAP, a bold operation is also in progress against the militant wings of some mainstream political parties which were a sacred cow until now due to political compromises and politicization of police force. If brought to conclusion, it will hopefully result in bringing lasting peace to urban centers, especially Karach, after decades of turmoil and insecurity. However, serious efforts are needed under NAP’s framework to stop reprehensible terrorist attacks on different sects and minorities on Pakistani soil.
In October 2014, the World Bank’s South Asia Economic Focus estimated the protests cost Pakistan’s GDP a loss of 2.1% points from the projected growth of 6.7%. In addition, there was almost 3% devaluation to the value of the rupee due to the political turmoil. However, things are looking up again. China continues to show confidence in investing in Pakistani economy. According to a Reuters report in November 2014, China will be investing 45.6 billion in energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan through 2020. The Wall Street Journal continues to publish encouraging news about Pakistan’s growing economy under the present government. For instance, according to a recent article in WSJ’s Frontiers Newsletter by Charlene Lee on Asia (March 11. 2015), the International Monetary Fund has praised the macroeconomic stability of Pakistan due to its prudent economic policies, strong remittances, control on inflation, and growing investor confidence. However for “achieving higher, sustainable and inclusive economic growth”, IMF is recommending a need to broaden the tax base, focus on harnessing energy crisis, investing in education and health sector, and privatization of (unprofitable) public enterprises.
According to a quote by the author and poet Maya Angelou, “God put a rainbow in every cloud”, therefore, loss of many innocent lives due to menace of terrorism will not go in vain but pave the way for a more tolerant and robust Pakistan.
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