Thank you, Lahore Literary Festival, for this opportunity to talk about my book with such a learned audience. I must also thank LLF for choosing Qazi Shaukat Fareed as the moderator for this session. I have known Qazi sahib from my NY days. His house in Manhattan was a little Pakistan. He has spent much of his professional life in NY, but it appears to me that Lahore never left his heart.
Qazi sahib has just spoken about how only some of the diplomats have recorded their experiences and how bulk of our diplomats served their stints and quietly went on with their lives. My own impression is that our diplomats serve under challenging circumstances. They represent a country that is beset with a host of challenges, internal and external. Internally, the polity of Pakistan has struggled to find a suitable governance model. Externally, the country finds itself in uneasy peace with its neighbors. And then there is the image problem. Our image is far removed from the reality of Pakistan.
It falls upon our diplomats to tell the world that we are a hospitable people with Lahore in the lead, we have the five majestic rivers irrigating Pakistan north to south, and mighty mountains that the whole world envies about. We are a bastion of many faiths from sufi Islam to Buddhism to Hinduism to Sikhism, and proud owners of an archaeological heritage with is unparalled vintage – Mohenjodaro, Mehargarh, Gandhara.
Is Pakistan known for all this? Not really. The outside world thinks that we are a country associated with extremism and terrorism, which is struggling to find democratic governance at home and peace in its neighborhood.
Our diplomats have the gigantic task of changing this image, with minimal resources. They work against all odds, and in my view, they have done fairly well. Even our enemies have praised our diplomats for we have held off a much larger hostile neighbor.
Diplomatic Footprints is my memoir at face value, the story of a Foreign Service Officer who has dedicated over four decades of his life to diplomacy. It is also the story of Pakistan and its foreign policy.
So, three stories run in parallel.
First, the story of Pakistan. How a country started its life literally from a scratch. Ayub period brought prosperity. We became a darling of the West. A role model for developing countries. The 1965 war, however, changed all that. Why did we fight that war? And then the separation of East Pakistan in circumstances that left a deep scar on our national psyche. Bhutto’s Islamic socialism consumed much of seventies, while General Zia’s Islamization dominated the eighties. The democratic struggle seesaw between NS and BB, and then came the Kargil crisis which I witnessed unfold while I was in Washington DC. General Musharraf’s enlightened moderation was yet another phase of our national life.
In all this experimentation, did Pakistan lose its way, did it deviate from the path that our Quaid Mohammad Ali Jinnah had chosen for us? That’s the first story in this book.
The second story is of our foreign policy. Our experiences with India on the eve of independence, the hostility we faced in terms of getting our share of assets, waters, and armed forces, induced a deep sense of insecurity. We looked around and found the US the sole super power after the WWII. The years of alliance with the US bolstered our economic and military strength. Then came the period of disillusionment with the US. We moved towards socialist bloc, the Muslim world, but the Afghan jihad brought us back to the US camp. This was replaced by a period of US sanctions against Pakistan in the nineties. Nine Eleven changed that again, and Pakistan became a US ally in the global war against terrorism. This roller coaster relationship with the US reflects through the book.
Much of the book is also about our relations with India. I have remained closely associated with the peace process with India. Why is it and how is it that the two countries could never find peaceful co-existence? Why is it that we could never learn from the experience of Europe where foes of centuries found a way to live cooperatively? The book dilates upon a range of issues that Pakistan and India have been grappling with for seven decades including the Kashmir dispute. Another significant section of the book is about our uneasy relations with Afghanistan. Why is it that there is such a mistrust between the two nations? Why is the border between the two countries, which Afghans call Durand Line, so problematic? Can the two countries build on their commonalities, rather than their differences? And then there is China. Our consistent friend despite the fact that we share little with the Chinese. Neither language, nor cuisine, nor faith. Yet, both respect each other like good neighbors should do.
I have also discussed the past and future of multilateralism. I spent over six years in NY. I saw first hand the euphoric phase of globalization change into unilateralism post Nine Eleven.
I have also talked about Pakistani diaspora. I have worked with the Pakistanis in the Gulf, Europe and America. I believe our diaspora is a remarkable resource for Pakistan. All this and much more of our foreign policy is discussed in the book.
And then there is my own story. How I grew up in a middleclass family, living in Lahore Cantt of the sixties, walking to school every morning watching the wonderful flora and fauna of Lahore. Much of that ambience, that environment is part of my psyche. That’s why I could never leave Lahore. It is right there in my heart. The city has expanded manifold, but each of us present here has his or her own association with this city.
Every morning I rode a bus from RA Bazar to District Court to go to Central Model School. Then a turning point came in my life and I went to the PAF College Sargodha, where I formed the basics of my life, the principles and values that I picked up there. I learned that education is not about getting academic degrees. It is about character building. I learned that a life constructed on values and principles is far superior to one built on expediencies. I learned that team work is far more productive than solo flights. I learned that we can achieve nothing without hard work and perseverance. And I learned that we must aim high in life and never settle for frugal goals.
From Cairo to Doha to Tehran to Washington to NY to Holland and then back to the US. How did this journey enrich me?
And then my battle with cancer has a chapter of its own.
The most gripping account of the book is my years as the Foreign Secretary of Pakistan, especially in dealing with our key relations. And finally, the ISSI years post retirement. In much of the book, I come out as either an observer of happenings or a participant. I don’t aggrandize myself, because modesty and humility were ingrained in me by my late parents, Allah bless their soul. I was also fortunate to have a loving wife and loving children. My son Sameer edited the book duly aided by Maheen. And Mubeen designed its cover that has earned much of admiration.
Why did I write this book?
Who all might find it relevant?
Let me tell you what this book is not. It is not about sensational or scandalous stuff. I have not revealed any confidential information, and avoided any punchy lines designed for controversy. At its core, it is a book that is written in defense of Pakistan’s narrative; one which I argue is constantly ignored both domestically and across borders. Each chapter effectively seeks to help the audience better understand Pakistan’s foreign policy challenges, its perspective, and why foreign policy making is complex, intricate, and something that must be managed with tact and finesse.
I hope you all would find the book readable and serves as a beneficial addition to the literature on the practitioner’s perspectives of diplomacy at work.