Myth and reality of MFN
Courtesy:- Ambassador (retd) BA Malik
A new thinking has emerged that argues that the peaceful resolution of Kashmir can go hand in hand with trade normalisation with our nuclear-armed rival
A myth, the nemesis of reality, is a groundless belief that cannot be tested and validated empirically. Nations addicted to a mythical past perpetually remain prisoners of darkness. All over the world, myth or perception is more powerful than reality. Most societies believe to understand, rather than understand to believe. Developing societies are, by and large, irrational and extremist. Once an opinion forms, it is next to impossible to change or amend it in a society that honours the status quo and abhors change. Change is a law of nature but not so in many underdeveloped countries where resistance to change is the dominant narrative.
Numerous myths about MFN status for India are being harboured in Pakistan unnecessarily. Indians are equally guilty of blurring the line between fact and fiction, but here I am concentrating on Pakistan as an exercise in self-criticism and introspection.
1. Many people believe that ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status for India amounts to our surrender to our neighbour. 2. Others think that MFN will dilute or even dismantle Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir. 3. Many believe that India if granted this status will wipe out our industry and exports. 4. Most people subscribe to the traditional view that Indo-Pak relations cannot be normalised unless the core issue of Kashmir is settled. 5. Anybody who recommends normal relations with India is a security risk pronounced by hawks schooled in the tradition of militant jihad. 6. Kashmir resolution, before anything else, has become an obsession bordering on second nature to many of our compatriots. 7. Some people believe that if we can defeat the former Soviet Union we can repeat the same humiliation for the US because we are a nuclear power. 8. Being a nuclear power, we can bring India to its knees is a widely held misperception. 9. Those who want friendship and cooperation with India are not patriotic, which is a commonly held myth. 10. National security above national welfare is a popular view among diehard advocates of confrontation.
Fall of myths and rise of realities. The myths mentioned above are not Pakistan-specific. They are rampant in India as well. My purpose in this brief paper is to tear the deceptive veil of ignorance from the face of rootless beliefs that have shackled Pakistan to the whims of bigotry, the status quo and stiff resistance to reality.
MFN status is no special preference to India. It is a normal trading relationship Pakistan enjoys with the rest of the world. I am tempted to replace the acronym of MFN with NTR (normal trading relationship). It is not a surrender but a rejection of backwardness. Instead of diluting our stand on Kashmir, MFN will strengthen our moral stature as a peace-loving nation. Our industry and exports will improve by MFN-inspired competitiveness. At a recently held seminar at ISSI in Islamabad on the subject, a large number of intellectuals passed a resolution in favour of granting MFN status to India pending an acceptable settlement of Kashmir. This unprecedented intellectual support is in perfect harmony with the PPP manifesto 2008 (quoted below), which stipulates that no single issue will be allowed to impede progress in other areas of cooperation with India. The extremist mindset is fast receding under the pressure of global developments and the tendency of branding peace advocates as security risks is losing appeal even among erstwhile hawks. A new thinking has emerged that argues that peaceful resolution of Kashmir can go hand in hand with trade normalisation with our nuclear-armed rival. The myth of Kashmir settlement before anything else is losing steam to the relief of the advocates of peace and progress. Obsession with nuclear power borders on insanity. Nuclear weapons may be a liability and not necessarily an asset. To think that we can defeat the whole world with the help of nukes is the highest degree of madness. Talk of peace with nuclear India is, therefore, fast becoming acceptable behaviour. The outdated impression that peace and economic cooperation with India militate against our national interest is waning. Confrontation is no longer the exclusive licence to patriotism.
The paradigm of a national security state is giving way to the imperative of a national welfare state, which is not possible without normal trading with India.
The advantages of MFN status for India far outweigh the disadvantages .The normal MFN terms of trade are in keeping with the PPP manifesto 2008. Quoted below is the relevant section of the manifesto that states: “The PPP government will work for a regional economic framework for the counties of South Asia...Under BB’s governments, the PPP has consistently pushed to replace the infrastructure of conflict with the architecture of peace. (Referring to Kashmir) PPP will not allow lack of progress of one agenda to impede progress on other issues...the PPP intends to tackle the social and economic malaise by promoting an Asian Common Market that can attract investment, create jobs and build bridges of peace and trade through all of South Asia.” The manifesto lays a solid foundation for MFN status for India over the shortsighted objections of reactionary elements. The ultraconservative Jamaat-e-Islami and pro-Taliban Defence of Pakistan Council have already condemned the cabinet decision to grant MFN status to India. In contrast, the Indian government has praised Pak efforts to normalise trade relations and vice versa. Many well-wishers of Pakistan and India have urged the two countries to soften their stance on Kashmir to give impetus to the stalled process of peace and progress in the region.
The anti MFN lobbies in the two countries are mysteriously disturbed by the bright prospects of peaceful coexistence. Both countries have extremists who are up in arms against any advance towards normalisation.
Some analysts have cautioned Pakistan to negotiate skillfully for an equitable balance of trade. Such caution, of course, deserves serious consideration. Meanwhile, the highest point of the emerging terms of economic engagement with India is that MFN enjoys the blessings of the Pakistani armed forces as well, which augurs well for a successful peace movement in the strife-torn region.
People from both sides of the divide are projecting charts supported by what they call facts and figures to prove their point .I have avoided the game of numbers because statistics are liable to misuse and disinformation.
The advantages of MFN cannot be measured in figures alone. The enormous peace dividend that will flow from the new status is larger than life. The massive funds that will be saved from termination of the current Indo-Pak arms race can pay our domestic and external debt hands down. In that scenario, the begging bowl to seek aid from the donor powers, who never give a cent without strings attached, will become redundant.
National interest has been treated most unkindly and treacherously and distorted with impunity by the champions of the status quo and usurpers over several decades. Finally, however, the wider meaning has come to light and the seminal concept is being redefined in line with national aspirations. As a major departure from the past and as a paradigm shift, national interest now means peaceful resolution of Kashmir, good relations with neighbours, persistent pursuit of democracy, uninterrupted fight to defeat terrorism, precedence of trade over aid, ascendancy of the doctrine of national welfare over the obsession of national security, and above all peaceful relations with India including MFN status. The cold war mindset is fast changing, giving way to a liberal democratic-cum-pluralistic worldview. This quantum change has seen the incremental replacement of militarism and jingoism by a more humane and more civilised conduct of our relations with the rest of the world. Most important to Pakistan are its commitments to promote peace in Afghanistan and trade with India and Iran in spite of provocative and unfriendly external pressures.
Seen in this context, MFN status for India is the gateway to peace and progress not only in the nuclear-armed South-Asian region but also in the whole world. MFN status for India will be opposed tooth and nail by die-hard extremists who consider peace and prosperity repugnant to Islam.
Pakistan’s foreign policy has matured and come of age. There is no reason to reverse this process of growth.
A new thinking has emerged that argues that the peaceful resolution of Kashmir can go hand in hand with trade normalisation with our nuclear-armed rival
A myth, the nemesis of reality, is a groundless belief that cannot be tested and validated empirically. Nations addicted to a mythical past perpetually remain prisoners of darkness. All over the world, myth or perception is more powerful than reality. Most societies believe to understand, rather than understand to believe. Developing societies are, by and large, irrational and extremist. Once an opinion forms, it is next to impossible to change or amend it in a society that honours the status quo and abhors change. Change is a law of nature but not so in many underdeveloped countries where resistance to change is the dominant narrative.
Numerous myths about MFN status for India are being harboured in Pakistan unnecessarily. Indians are equally guilty of blurring the line between fact and fiction, but here I am concentrating on Pakistan as an exercise in self-criticism and introspection.
1. Many people believe that ‘Most Favoured Nation’ status for India amounts to our surrender to our neighbour. 2. Others think that MFN will dilute or even dismantle Pakistan’s principled stand on Kashmir. 3. Many believe that India if granted this status will wipe out our industry and exports. 4. Most people subscribe to the traditional view that Indo-Pak relations cannot be normalised unless the core issue of Kashmir is settled. 5. Anybody who recommends normal relations with India is a security risk pronounced by hawks schooled in the tradition of militant jihad. 6. Kashmir resolution, before anything else, has become an obsession bordering on second nature to many of our compatriots. 7. Some people believe that if we can defeat the former Soviet Union we can repeat the same humiliation for the US because we are a nuclear power. 8. Being a nuclear power, we can bring India to its knees is a widely held misperception. 9. Those who want friendship and cooperation with India are not patriotic, which is a commonly held myth. 10. National security above national welfare is a popular view among diehard advocates of confrontation.
Fall of myths and rise of realities. The myths mentioned above are not Pakistan-specific. They are rampant in India as well. My purpose in this brief paper is to tear the deceptive veil of ignorance from the face of rootless beliefs that have shackled Pakistan to the whims of bigotry, the status quo and stiff resistance to reality.
MFN status is no special preference to India. It is a normal trading relationship Pakistan enjoys with the rest of the world. I am tempted to replace the acronym of MFN with NTR (normal trading relationship). It is not a surrender but a rejection of backwardness. Instead of diluting our stand on Kashmir, MFN will strengthen our moral stature as a peace-loving nation. Our industry and exports will improve by MFN-inspired competitiveness. At a recently held seminar at ISSI in Islamabad on the subject, a large number of intellectuals passed a resolution in favour of granting MFN status to India pending an acceptable settlement of Kashmir. This unprecedented intellectual support is in perfect harmony with the PPP manifesto 2008 (quoted below), which stipulates that no single issue will be allowed to impede progress in other areas of cooperation with India. The extremist mindset is fast receding under the pressure of global developments and the tendency of branding peace advocates as security risks is losing appeal even among erstwhile hawks. A new thinking has emerged that argues that peaceful resolution of Kashmir can go hand in hand with trade normalisation with our nuclear-armed rival. The myth of Kashmir settlement before anything else is losing steam to the relief of the advocates of peace and progress. Obsession with nuclear power borders on insanity. Nuclear weapons may be a liability and not necessarily an asset. To think that we can defeat the whole world with the help of nukes is the highest degree of madness. Talk of peace with nuclear India is, therefore, fast becoming acceptable behaviour. The outdated impression that peace and economic cooperation with India militate against our national interest is waning. Confrontation is no longer the exclusive licence to patriotism.
The paradigm of a national security state is giving way to the imperative of a national welfare state, which is not possible without normal trading with India.
The advantages of MFN status for India far outweigh the disadvantages .The normal MFN terms of trade are in keeping with the PPP manifesto 2008. Quoted below is the relevant section of the manifesto that states: “The PPP government will work for a regional economic framework for the counties of South Asia...Under BB’s governments, the PPP has consistently pushed to replace the infrastructure of conflict with the architecture of peace. (Referring to Kashmir) PPP will not allow lack of progress of one agenda to impede progress on other issues...the PPP intends to tackle the social and economic malaise by promoting an Asian Common Market that can attract investment, create jobs and build bridges of peace and trade through all of South Asia.” The manifesto lays a solid foundation for MFN status for India over the shortsighted objections of reactionary elements. The ultraconservative Jamaat-e-Islami and pro-Taliban Defence of Pakistan Council have already condemned the cabinet decision to grant MFN status to India. In contrast, the Indian government has praised Pak efforts to normalise trade relations and vice versa. Many well-wishers of Pakistan and India have urged the two countries to soften their stance on Kashmir to give impetus to the stalled process of peace and progress in the region.
The anti MFN lobbies in the two countries are mysteriously disturbed by the bright prospects of peaceful coexistence. Both countries have extremists who are up in arms against any advance towards normalisation.
Some analysts have cautioned Pakistan to negotiate skillfully for an equitable balance of trade. Such caution, of course, deserves serious consideration. Meanwhile, the highest point of the emerging terms of economic engagement with India is that MFN enjoys the blessings of the Pakistani armed forces as well, which augurs well for a successful peace movement in the strife-torn region.
People from both sides of the divide are projecting charts supported by what they call facts and figures to prove their point .I have avoided the game of numbers because statistics are liable to misuse and disinformation.
The advantages of MFN cannot be measured in figures alone. The enormous peace dividend that will flow from the new status is larger than life. The massive funds that will be saved from termination of the current Indo-Pak arms race can pay our domestic and external debt hands down. In that scenario, the begging bowl to seek aid from the donor powers, who never give a cent without strings attached, will become redundant.
National interest has been treated most unkindly and treacherously and distorted with impunity by the champions of the status quo and usurpers over several decades. Finally, however, the wider meaning has come to light and the seminal concept is being redefined in line with national aspirations. As a major departure from the past and as a paradigm shift, national interest now means peaceful resolution of Kashmir, good relations with neighbours, persistent pursuit of democracy, uninterrupted fight to defeat terrorism, precedence of trade over aid, ascendancy of the doctrine of national welfare over the obsession of national security, and above all peaceful relations with India including MFN status. The cold war mindset is fast changing, giving way to a liberal democratic-cum-pluralistic worldview. This quantum change has seen the incremental replacement of militarism and jingoism by a more humane and more civilised conduct of our relations with the rest of the world. Most important to Pakistan are its commitments to promote peace in Afghanistan and trade with India and Iran in spite of provocative and unfriendly external pressures.
Seen in this context, MFN status for India is the gateway to peace and progress not only in the nuclear-armed South-Asian region but also in the whole world. MFN status for India will be opposed tooth and nail by die-hard extremists who consider peace and prosperity repugnant to Islam.
Pakistan’s foreign policy has matured and come of age. There is no reason to reverse this process of growth.
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