PAKISTAN is enjoying a rare ‘sunny’ moment thanks to its success in last May’s conflict and its current eminent role in mediation in the US-Iran war. Pakistan has had a few sunny moments earlier.

In June 2003, when I was posted in our Washington embassy, the then president Gen Pervez Musharraf visited Camp David. Seen as a hero in America, by both the government and its people, he drew large crowds. President George Bush would have given him the moon had he asked for it. He could have asked for resources for a water reservoir or a $10 billion economic package for infrastructure. Instead, both sides celebrated a defence/ economic package of $3bn. There was no discussion on support measures for the targeted Pakistani community either. Similarly, Pakistan’s performance in capitalising on the CPEC promise has been a mixed bag. Many projects have stalled, though analysts say it is back on track.

Pakistan couldn’t utilise these two sunny moments due to one basic flaw: the absence of a central nervous system to foresee opportunities, to analyse Pakistan’s needs, and to proceed with a strategic vision. For long periods, we didn’t have proper professionals to process multidimensional issues such as CPEC.

The current hybrid........

© Dawn