What necessitated the policy? Explains Imtiaz Gul in this vlog.
So far all ministries had their own viewpoints on their respective sectors. They talked about security from their own perspectives – so a wholistic element of national security was scattered all over.
This NSP has brought all those concerns, challenges and strategies under one umbrella, compressed them into a solid document as a foundation for times to come. State institutions can keep tweaking and revising the policy as the situation – security or economic -evolves
Why is NSP different? It is different because of its focus i.e. a paradigm shift from security to economics. Sofar, the only prism successive administrations applied to the notion of national security was that of conventional security – looking at the issue from its relations with enemies to the east and west. Almost entire policies and approaches were anchored in Pakistan’s acrimonious relationship with India and the continuous conflict in Afghanistan.
The NSP while acknowledging the adverse relations with India and the challenges from the turmoil in Afghanistan, vows to anchor the security policy in geo-economics, regional connectivity and alliances across the region for economic development and trade promotion. It can also help in expanding the scope of China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
What are the challenges ahead? The challenges lie in the realization of the goals set in the NSP. The real and foremost challenge is the dated bureaucratic mindset that prevail within governance structures of Pakistan. This will indeed be a formidable task to gear this mindset – that comes from the 19th century governance regime. Equally Challenging is how to rationalize Pakistan’s expenses versus limited revenues. How to free up resources for development and expansion by rationalizing the public procurement systems.
As a whole the NSP is a good step in the right direction but the path is riddled with multiple hurdles on the way to realizing the goals of the policy. One would hope that all state institutions join hands to turn the NSP into an effective policy guideline for national security.
