FREQUENT U-turns are negatively viewed but the one made by the Government on Thursday was highly appreciable as the decision of the Federal Cabinet to reverse the decision of the Economic Coordination Committee of the Cabinet (ECC) about import of sugar and cotton from India is reflective of the aspirations of the people of Pakistan.
There was a sharp reaction to the ECC move and an elected government was expected to take care of the sensitivities of the people and that is what it did by deferring the move aimed at restoration of trade ties with India.
The linkage of trade with India with restoration of the original status of the Occupied Kashmir is the right approach as this is the minimum benchmark that people of Pakistan expect New Delhi to meet before resumption of trade ties.
However, there are some perplexing questions and issues surrounding the decision of the ECC to import sugar and cotton from India and its rejection by the Cabinet within one day.
The episode speaks volumes about decision-making processes in the governmental hierarchy, highlighting the need for proper institutional input and consultations especially in the case of sensitive issues so as to avoid embarrassment to the government as well as the country.
The cabinet deferred the move citing reservations expressed by foreign and interior ministries that there should be no trade with India until it restored the semi-autonomous status of occupied Kashmir.
It effectively meant that the two most relevant ministries – Foreign Affairs and Commerce – were not taken on board while taking such an important decision.
The Government should have followed an extensive consultative process to consider all pros and cons of the move before taking the final decision and going public.
It is intriguing how the original summary by the relevant ministry was approved at the highest level and why it was not moved after taking input from the Foreign Ministry and other stakeholders.
There seems to be something serious with the entire decision-making process and therefore, transparency demands its streamlining as is done in other countries.
Decisions must not be taken at whims and relevant procedures should be followed religiously to avoid recurrence of similar situations in future.
Not to speak of internal consultations among different ministries and institutions, in truly democratic societies, even the opposition parties and leaders are consulted on important policy matters.
The Prime Minister deserves credit for convening a meeting to consider the issue of resumption of trade with India in a broader perspective but this should have been done before the fiasco.
