Dawn: Pakistan should remove internal obstacles to development
Pakistan must use its recent diplomatic achievements to address internal problems in security, the economy and politics, according to an editorial by Dawn. The publication believes that strengthening the country’s international standing will have practical value only if there is peace and prosperity within Pakistan.
Diplomatic steps
The article notes that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Bishkek to take part in the summit of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Pakistan assumed the SCO chairmanship, and the organisation’s next summit is to be held in Islamabad. In Bishkek, Sharif met, among others, with the leaders of Russia and China.
Before the summit, the first official meeting of the Mecca Defence Alliance took place in Istanbul. According to the editorial, Pakistan’s international role is underscored by the decision to entrust the country with leading the group’s secretariat. Dawn calls the alliance a continuation of the defence agreement Pakistan signed with Saudi Arabia last year.
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The publication also considers the talks between Iran and the United States, held in Islamabad in April, an important diplomatic step. The editorial states that, despite a renewed escalation of violence between the two states, there is a global consensus on the Islamabad Memorandum as the best path to peace.
Internal challenges
At the same time, Dawn points to two major terrorist insurgencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The economic situation, in the publication’s assessment, has become relatively more stable than before, but the country is still far from sustainable growth.
The editorial called political instability a separate problem and stressed that, in order to achieve stability, space must be ensured for all of the country’s political forces. In Dawn’s view, regional integration is complicated by Pakistan’s tense relations with India and Afghanistan, governed by the Taliban, as well as the war in Iran and the Persian Gulf region. The publication called for a focus on internal security, economic policy and political reconciliation.
