Zubair Qureshi
Speakers at a webinar titled ‘Contemporary threats to Pakistan’ were of the view that there were multiple threats confronting Pakistan and the country was at the verge of collapse due to all accumulated domestic and international geopolitical blunders.
The only solution to the current political crisis was a broad-based consensus on political issues, lowering down of political heat and above all fresh elections.
They held the stakeholders responsible for the chaos, crisis and clash of vested interests, they said adding, national interest seemed absolutely compromised. Sanity shall prevail to consolidate real time solutions to combat internal and external threats ranging from geopolitical to national leadership crisis, socioeconomic failures and nontraditional security challenges.
Addressing the webinar organized by Devcom-Pakistan the geostrategic affairs experts suggested that the controversial figureheads in the political arena and in the state institutions would remain silent for a while. A national economic revival commission shall be formed. The commission shall have indigenous, noncontroversial and nonpolitical technocrats. It should be formed by the state institutions through a consultative process. Let the politicians sit together to work sanely.
The guest speakers included Lt. General retired Talat Masood, senior journalist Mazhar Abbas, Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade chief Hassan Daud Butt. Research analyst Farhat Rana, China trade expert Khald Mahmood, geoplotical analyst from London Muhammad Nawaz Raja, International Relations expert Sadiq Hussain, also senior financial expert Iftikhar Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.
Lt General retired Talat Masood urged the large political parties to act sanely and resolve their conflicts and reservations in the parliament. We shall not postpone the moment of truth at this critical moment rather face it rationally. Pakistan needs to improve its security situation while balancing out its geopolitical positioning.
Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed urged the military establishment to play its role in wiping off the politico-economic chaos in the best possible manner. Political tolerance and reconciliation is extremely important in the heated up political environment. It is adding to national economic fiasco and vulnerability to the geopolitical situations around us. We shall form a national economic revival commission having in the independent economic and financial experts to immediately review the situation and suggest an action plan for implementation through the government of technocrats, strongly supported by the establishment.
Senior journalist Mazhar Abbas said: Politicians need to resolve their conflicts within the parliament, not in the courts. We would not have three more martial laws if the judiciary had not validated Ayub’s martial law. It’s the judiciary that has played havoc with the systems in Pakistan, and encouraged the undemocratic forces and dictatorial regimes. Political consensus on fresh elections, depolarization and cooling down the political hatred would lead to a stable political situation at the moment.
