THOUGH the full document has not been released but the public version of the National Security Policy – 2022-26, launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan on auspicious Friday, deals comprehensively with all aspects of the national security and its implementation, in letter and spirit, would, hopefully, go a long way in making Pakistan’s defence and security invincible in real sense of the word.
It is, perhaps, for the first time that it has officially been acknowledged that the dream of a strong and secure Pakistan would remain elusive until and unless economic stability was not considered as the central pillar of national security.
Other aspects covered by the document include national cohesion, defence and territorial integrity, internal security, foreign policy and human security.
There can hardly be two opinions that Pakistan managed its defence and security issues appropriately despite numerous challenges and vulnerabilities as is evident from its successful campaign against the menace of terrorism and extremism, which is being referred to as a model throughout the globe, and ability of the country to safeguard its core national interests in the face of unending threats from India.
As the country found it impossible to go for an arms race (as India is amassing weapons from all parts of the world), it rightly focused on nuclear deterrence that has helped avert aggression from hostile neighbour that misses no opportunity to exploit weaknesses of Pakistan.
However, time has come where it is being felt even by the ordinary people of Pakistan that the country cannot spare required resources for defence in view of overall economic conditions and plight of the common man.
In this backdrop, credit goes to all stakeholders, who contributed in the process that culminated in finalization of a comprehensive document on national security, for highlighting the need to strengthen the economy of the country as this is the only way we can defend our political sovereignty effectively.
As pointed out by the Prime Minister one-dimensional approach caused the erstwhile Soviet Union its disintegration as military needs cannot be guaranteed forever if people face economic hardships and see no prospects for prosperity.
A country’s defence is as secure and strong as unity and cohesion of its people, which in turn demands inclusive growth and prosperity.
It is, therefore, welcoming that the main themes of the NSP are national cohesion, securing an economic future, defence and territorial integrity, internal security, foreign policy in a changing world, peace with India with focus on Kashmir solution and cyber data security.
The policy is aimed at addressing three critical economic challenges, external imbalance, socio-economic inequalities and geographic disparities between developed and under-developed regions of Pakistan.
The document emphasizes the non-negotiable focus on defence and territorial integrity of Pakistan, strengthening space-based technology and its application and combating hybrid warfare through enhancing information and cyber security.
It is for the first time that a clear policy would be there in black and white to serve as a guideline for initiation of actions and programmes in different areas.
However, it is not fully known how the policy would be implemented and monitored in a country where there is scant respect for the Constitution, which, should, otherwise be considered as sacrosanct.
Similarly, we formulated a 20-point Action Plan against Terrorism after thorough debate in Parliament but its implementation too is not enviable despite the fact that it identified problems and issues impinging upon national security and provided a road-map for addressing them.
Again, we have long been paying lip-service to the declared objective of the successive governments to focus on economic diplomacy and ‘trade not aid’.
Isn’t it shameful that even after decades of raising the slogan of ‘trade, not aid’ we are still at a stage where we accept humiliating conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the sake of $6 billion, which is equal to just two months’ of remittances by overseas Pakistanis?
Under these circumstances, it is important to assign the responsibility of implementation and monitoring to some platform and the progress should be reviewed periodically.
The National Security Division is the natural platform for coordination of all such policies and plans and a Steering Committee headed by the Prime Minister may oversee implementation and remove hurdles.
It is encouraging that in line with the spirit of the new policy, the Government has decided to launch a permanent residency scheme for foreigners as part of the efforts to attract investment (in this case in the real sector).
We hope, with the passage of time, a series of concrete measures would be taken that could bring about a real change in the realm of geo-economics.
