Concept of National Security-2

by IKRAM SEHGAL

Pakistan entered the 21st century a truncated version of its original creation, uncertain about its future, its place under the sun, its identity, etc indeed without a coherent vision for the future. Invisible disintegration of the national fabric has been so rapid and the national morale so bad that it is common perception rather than fact, that deterioration of our integrity is in an advanced stage. More than any strategic or tactical design, it is a vagary of destiny. Note the irony, a nation that had the genius to explode an atomic bomb in 1998 is in danger of ending up as a flash in the pan within a decade.

The Armed Forces remain an instrument of necessity, as a measure of last resort, not to used in the future except for it’s primarily role, the defence of Pakistan.  Let us be pragmatic about our aims and objectives, survival of the country as an integrated country being paramount. The search for a lasting vision must be our enduring passion! Taking stock of our existing resources, in manpower and material, a comprehensive plan must be worked out of how to coalesce and force-multiply their immense potential.  The country has been trying “ad hoc” and “containment” measures in one form or the other for 50 years. We do not have a national security strategy, no focus in terms of values, interests and objectives, and/or its coherence in terms of relating means to ends. There is an inability within the executive branch to formulate the mid and long-term national security necessary to defend and further our vital interests in a coherent and integrated manner.

The Strategic Vision must necessarily include: (1) Domestic and foreign interests, goals and objectives vital to the national security of the Pakistan.  (2) Foreign policy, the commitments thereof and the minimum defence necessary to deter aggression, to implement the country’s security objectives by political, economic, military, and other elements of national power.  (3) Potential and capability to carry out the national security strategy and support its implementation.

The elements of national power must be emphasized in an integrated strategy, particularly the economic element, Separate strategies are a must for each region with an integration of the various instruments of power. Instead of a flip-flop modus operandi of containment, there must be a grand strategy of “engagement and enlargement”.  The three national security goals are (a) enhancing our security (b) promoting prosperity at home, and (c) promoting democracy – under which to integrate all of the government’s efforts to advance Pakistan’s interests.

The Canvas encompassing National Security covers the International Political Environment, Ideology, Economics and the Media.  Globalization has led to vanishing frontiers, even though it is viewed as unjust to the weaker countries with powerful countries at liberty to dictate terms and not share the benefits thereof.  Swift developments in the field of technology, cut in transport and trade tariffs has added to the impetus.  World economies and cultures have now become accessible. Not constrained by time or even space, binding together events all over the world globalization is the economic context on an international scale, every country has to adapt as best as they can to be able to survive and compete.

Ideologies are no longer fashionable, circumstances have brought this concept to an abrupt end.  Because of inefficiency and corruption, communism became discredited with the fall of the once mighty Soviet Empire. The reverberations are etched in the minds of its people. This brought in the new market forces with more and more countries attaching their futures to global free-market. Even in more developed countries “Services” once considered the preserve of the State were handed over to private enterprise and corporations. However recent events have been an eye-opener, we seem to be rapidly going into reverse gear, even the US is nationalizing banks! China is one success story that should be emulated by others. Breaking the shackles of the past, it has moved boldly towards mixture of socialism and a free-market economy in such a planned and mature style that it now has become a leading force in the world, socially and economically. Capitalism is rampant in China, but on a socialist model, with people everywhere adapting to free market trends.

The new currency for National Security is Economics. The most significant factor contribution to the growth and progress of a nation is its economy. A weak economy means poverty and misery for the people. Without drastic and pragmatic measures by the government to initiate macroeconomic and other measures, it will stay that way. A strong and viable economy means a prosperous future for the country and its people.  Growth and industrialization are closely linked together, economies start out as agrarian, but move to manufacture of goods, and than finally to Services.  For economic emancipation all three sectors must be strongly based and more or less complement each other, importantly the country must be politically stable and mature.  A strong economy means greater productivity as well as social equality for the masses, all sectors given the thrust that ushers in economic prosperity.  Countries do not aim at conquering lands in today’s world, but at dominating and controlling markets. Most of today’s wars or regional conflicts have all been about oil, the backbone for a very strong economy.   

The media is increasingly a vital part of national security, being divided into three concentric spheres: In the centre are concepts and values that are accepted without question – the ‘sphere of consensus’.  The ‘sphere of legitimate controversy’ comprises argument contained within particular parameters. Legitimacy is decided by institutions and bodies which determine when and what ‘change’ is approved. Outside of this, is the ‘sphere of deviancy’, to where people and issues unworthy of serious consideration are relegated.  Media plays a Vital Role in (post) modern societies and in the surrounding global culture.  The media’s influence is today greater than at any time because the “media reality” has gained ground from conventional reality, especially in political life. The problem is made especially serious by the fact that this mediated reality can be bought-unlike conventional reality. There is need for some type of media monitoring.  In Pakistan media freedom has translated into licence. The man who husbanded the freedom of the media became its biggest casualty, Gen Musharraf found this out to his lasting deferment when the media turned on their wholesale.

Pakistan is a tremendous example of how the international media, along with gullible parts of the domestic media, has been used against the Armed Forces under the cover of going after a military dictator. However once the democratic government was in power and the khakis were no longer in the front line, the focus shifted to economic sabotage of the country, again with the help of an unsuspecting media. For the framing of any national security strategy, the co-relation between national security, the economy and the media has to be balanced in the supreme interest of the State.