As the Obama administration comes close to its end, the Republican-dominated Congress seems adamant in giving it a difficult time. Wary of Pakistan’s reliability as a country committed to fighting against terrorism, the Congress has blocked the US share of funding for the sale of F-16s to Pakistan. According to the earlier agreement, Pakistan was supposed to buy eight F-16s from the US at a total cost of $700 million; however, it was supposed to pay $270 million as the US had agreed to pay the remaining $430 million from its Foreign Military Fund (FMF). Pakistan has now been told that it would have to pay the entire amount if it wishes to buy the fighter jets from the US. In a global setting in which US importance for Pakistan continues to diminish as other regional players emerge to challenge US dominance in the developing world, the provision of military assistance remains one of the few cards that the US can play to influence Pakistan. It is in light of this that the statement of the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, must be viewed as he has warned the US that Pakistan would look for other sellers if the US does not fund the jets. Aziz’s statement is characteristic of the fluid position that Pakistan has adopted in the current complex web of diplomatic manoeuvres. However, it is easy to get lost in the particulars of this diplomatic position while losing sight of the bigger picture: Pakistan to this day remains a dependant country as its reliance on foreign donors continues to increase day by day.
Most of the developed world became successful because their underlying economies developed at the same rate as their military technology. Western European countries, which came to symbolise progress and development, were part of a relatively closed system in the Middle Ages and their state structure developed through warfare. This was because war required resources, and resources required a central state system, which consisted of bureaucracies that could collect information and extract taxes from the local population. Hence, the military that developed in these countries could be supported by an underlying robust economic system. This situation could be contrasted with that of Pakistan in which during the early years security concerns of Pakistan brought about by the ‘rivalry’ with India and Cold War imperatives of the US resulted in a partnership that brought substantial military aid to Pakistan. While it is true that Pakistan required this military assistance as it buttressed the staggering state structure, nevertheless, Pakistan’s economy did not develop at the same rate with the result being that the military’s shopping list still cannot be entirely paid by national resources.
Pakistan’s dependence has caused it to disproportionately take into consideration the position of its patrons on various international issues. Hence, the underlying problems of economic underdevelopment need to be dealt with so that foreign patrons are no longer required for the country’s military needs. For this reason, lessons should be learned from the developed East Asian world such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan as they started their development journey roughly during the same time as Pakistan but surpassed its economy far quickly. These countries took advantage of specific economic opportunities that emerged and used them to tap into the international market. Their emphasis on economic development was what led them to the path of success. Unfortunately, the securitisation narrative has triumphed in Pakistan and this has led to a decreased weightage being assigned to economic concerns. In some cases economic advantages have been even completely sidelined, for example, on the issue of trade with India, tremendous benefit for both countries has been ignored in favour of intransigent positions and diplomatic deadlocks. It is high time that economic interests be assigned a central position so that the cycle of dependency that Pakistan has fallen victim to can finally be broken. http://dailytimes.com.pk/editorial/05-May-16/pakistan-economy-and-the-f-16-dilemma
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