Pakistan Reader# 732, 25 March 2024
Shamini Velayutham
In Focus
On 25 March, an opinion piece in The News International by Shakeel Ahmad Ramay stated that peace was anticipated after the exist of US and allied forces from Afghanistan, nevertheless, peace had no alternative. Ramay in his opinion asserted that after the withdrawal, terrorist groups such as ISIS started resurfacing and thus destructing the peace in the region. Pakistan was the first country to be targeted, they attacked Pakistani armed forces and civilians. Along the sidelines of the major attacks, the terrorists had a keen interest in China-Pakistan relationship and their mega CPEC projects, employees precisely in Balochistan.
The recent attacks in Gwadar port, a grand project of CPEC was swiftly intercepted by Pakistani forces. According to the initial assessment, the terrorists had the support of the support of the geopolitical players in foreign countries. To avert the peaceful rise of China, attacks are carried out targeting CPEC and Chinese citizens in Pakistan. The terrorists wanted to break China and Pakistan relations in order to thrive in the region and beyond. Thus, provoking indifferences between the two countries could lead to forming a web of destruction in China’s surroundings. According to Ramay, the terrorists have been working towards inflicting a negative image of China on Pakistan. They launched “warlord public diplomacy” against Pakistan and China to tarnish their successful economic corridor. Ramay further added that they have carried out malevolent campaigns such as debt traps in order to blame CPEC for Pakistan’s current economic upheaval.
In his opinion, he argues that Pakistan should restructure its security devices and “devise a security policy” for geopolitical players. On the domestic line, Pakistan should differentiate between the two phases of CPEC as it revolves around the industrial and agricultural cooperation. As hundreds and thousands of workers are involved in the industrial and agricultural front it is not viable for Pakistan to deploy security personnel to everyone, he added. He further noted that there should be two tire security fronts, one is the police, as they are the leading force on the ground, second, the army should be deployed to protect grand infrastructure such as Gwadar port. In order to curb FGW, Pakistan will have to approach the DIMEC ((Diplomacy, Information, Military, Economy and Culture) framework. Ramay states that it is impossible for a single institution to contribute to a country’s development, hence all the sectors of DIMEC should cooperate.
On the geopolitical front, according to Ramay, Pakistan will have to exhibit a “proficient, multidimensional and smart policy”. Security audit must be conducted for CPEC, and the focus of the audit must be not only on Pakistan’s enemies but also on its friends and rivals, he added. According to him, Pakistan’s army should make a swift move to protect the interests of Pakistan at the international level. Meanwhile, he said: “China and Pakistan should join hands to devise and deploy the security policy according to new realities.” The terrorists not only attack CPEC projects, they further attack all the Chinese investments in Africa. Since CPEC is a mega project and a symbol of long standing relations between China and Pakistan, it is the primary target. In addition to this, US and its allies have also deployed institutions like the IMF to add pressure on Pakistan in order to compromise on CPEC and its relations with China. And therefore, both countries should join forces to curb the threats. According to Ramay, China and Pakistan can launch innovative programmes to counter “5th generation warfare and malicious propaganda”. China and Pakistan can also boost cooperation under the Global Security Initiative (GSI) as it has the potential to ensure people’s security and prosperity. Subsequently, through this, both countries can also engage with other competitors to lower the risk of security. To conclude, Ramay said: “New government in Balochistan must be supported to tackle security, livelihood and development issues.” And that CM Sarfraz Bugti is vigilant to do so. (Shakeel Ahmad Ramay, “Gwadar attack, CPEC and big picture,” The News International, 25 March 2024)
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