Take the EU’s Pakistan policy off autopilot: Dawn

By Shada Islam, Daniel Korski and Fabrice Pothier

When EU leaders hold their first ever summit with Pakistan on June 17, they will meet a country at a critical juncture. After two months of warfare, the Islamabad government has regained territory in Swat and Malakand from the Pakistani Taliban. Feeling pressured, the militants are now striking back the best way they can – through terror and bombings, such as the attacks seen in Peshawar.

How Islamabad deals with the three fronts of the current crisis - security, governance and humanitarian - will determine whether Pakistan slides back to its old habits of denial and fragmentation, or whether it can uphold the fragile but genuine momentum for change.

Through a three-pillar stabilization package using aid and governance tools, while boosting trade and development, the EU can play a critical role in making Pakistan's change a lasting one. For the EU –Pakistan summit to be the start of a true strategic cooperation between Europe and Pakistan, Brussels and its institutions will need a stronger mandate from European capitals.

First the EU should help address the unprecedented humanitarian crisis triggered by the military offensive. The number of internally displaced people is a staggering two million in addition to the 500,000 made homeless by an earlier operation in Bajaur. This may in the long-term hamper Pakistan’s economic recovery; in the short-term, it undermines the military’s hard-fought gains. The reason: the Pakistani government’s inability to deliver post-combat assistance to the 2.5 million displaced people who are easy prey for charity-cum-extremists such as Lashkar-e-Taiba. As Pakistani forces fight today’s enemy, they may inadvertently be swelling the ranks of future foes.

The EU should begin by matching the recent US pledge of more than 200 million US dollars (142 million euros) in humanitarian aid. Its 5.5 million euro humanitarian aid package pledged so far - in the light of the half-billion dollar appeal from the UN - and the fact that not a single EU commissioner has visited the refugees speak volumes of the EU’s neglect.

For those EU countries that do not have bilateral ties with Pakistan, the establishment of a 'Frontier Emergency Fund' would help channel aid into quick-impact projects. Small donations of a million or even half a million euros could make a difference. Such a fund would also help reinforce the credibility of Pakistan’s civilian government by providing assistance to support state services, including the provision of security, electricity and potable water.

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