Pakistan and the Economic Block
Posted on 10. Jan, 2012 by Tarik Jan in ECO
Our grouping with the Muslim nations westward and in Central Asia goes beyond survival to a life surge while in SAARC we are entombed into the secular non-Muslim lap of India.
By Tarik Jan
Should Pakistan strive for an active economic block with Central and Middle Eastern states or it let itself submerge in the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is a question calling for a review of the two options. The Indophiles have begun convincing people that SAARC should be the primary consideration. They talk of common borders between Pakistan and India, ignoring the larger fact of Afghanistan, Iran, and China of being our neighbors also.
What is far more important, which they conveniently sideline, is the nature of such blocks and how their structure and the motives behind them could effect member nations. This write up will address itself to these aspects of the problem.
The emergent economic blocks in the world are either political or politically motivated. This is obvious from their structure. In each case, with varying degrees one finds an axial power around which a block revolves. In a sense, economic blocks are the extension of the empire era when empires sought vast landmass rich in raw material and market potentials. Again, in the empire era the mercantile class served as the bridgehead whereas the ruling élite stood behind it. In the capitalist economy, we see the repeat of the empire era: the mercantile class is seeking wider territories for marketing its goods and the political will of the capitalist state is augmenting its effort.
Talking of the axial power-centered blocks, for NAFTA, it is the United States; for the Council of Mutual Economic Association (COMECON), it is Russia; for SAARC it is India. Here in these three cases, the desire is power extension. Americans want to dominate North and South America; Russians seek the continuation of their old role in Eastern Europe; Indians want to recreate the old British India, if not the mythical united India.
As opposed to these axial power-centered blocks, there are other trading blocks such as ASEAN and OECD, which have come into existence to protect their member states’ interests against a powerful neighboring nation – that is, Japan in Asia; and Germany, France and England in Europe. Regional grouping as such is not a meaningless modality. Its membership should be determined, among other things, by two chief considerations.
The identity factor: Should we be defined by our ideology or by our regional location, close to a certain neighboring nation, which does not bear with our existence?
What future shape a regional grouping will take? If pulled inward and submerged by a structure, what will become of us?
Regional grouping is thus not trade alone; it has its own dialectical movement in addition to geopolitical ambitions of a larger axial state which the smaller member state has to measure against its own interest in the absolute sense.
A nation that seeks a trading block with others must ensure that it groups itself with nations of similar identities so that even when there is an inward centripetal pull with a corresponding political structure, its merger becomes not a death embrace but a life-giving process of becoming. Fortunately for Pakistan its landmass extends on the west of its geography into uninterrupted Muslim territories which gives it land depth and access to the friendly nations of Islam.
Our grouping with the Muslim nations westward and in Central Asia goes beyond survival to a life surge while in SAARC we are entombed into the secular non-Muslim lap of India.
Added to this, one must not ignore the Indian perception about SAARC, which visualizes it as a substitute for pre-1947 British India – a template of assimilation whereby Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka would be reshaped into a confederation. Culture and trade ties are a prelude to it.
Besides, we must realize that the unipolar world dominated by the U.S. and its allies is unfortunately not conducive to the Muslims. The West has decimated Bosnia and trapped it into a grotesquely cruel political setup, which instead of empowering the Bosnians has made them destitute. Sudan has been truncated. Ghadafi Libya is gone and Iran is almost under siege. Iraq has been devastated. Afghanistan is being brutalized. Tomorrow it could be Pakistan or some other Muslim state. Muslims are no exception to the inexorable laws of history – their grouping has to be effectuated before they are isolated and bled white.
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8 Responses to “Pakistan and the Economic Block”
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Tarik Jan
S Balu
10. Jan, 2012
The Greatest MISTAKE our leadership has IS NOT TO UNDERSTAND deviousness,knivance of Indians! Indians are very clever at playing DOUBLE GAMES. Give you example Whilst they created NAM and cheered Arabs in 1950./1960/1970/1980 whilst at same time through BACK door they were doing BUSINESS with zionist! Now India has teamed as JUNIOR COLONIAL PARTNERS with usa/zionist/the west see how swiftly they moving in AFRICA and Pakistan MARKED to COLONISED VIA SAARC .Yes,short term there might be very few visible gains but long term PAKISTAN is going to CRY and TEARS will be of BLOOD! Better avoid that SUFFERING and let us look towards west i.e. Iran ,central asia and FORGET INDIA once and FOR ALL
Those who ADVOCATE CLOSER TIES With India would doing Pakistan GREATEST DISSERVICE! WAKE UP PAKISTAN! SAARC is a FULL OF SWEET SLOW POISON!
S Balu
10. Jan, 2012
Remember India has TEAMED up with zionist and RAW/MOSSAD have NEARLY destroyed Muslims in Nigeria,South africa etc Check it out
How RAW first penetrated Norther Nigeria and how they passed info. to MOSSAD same will HAPPEN IN PAKISTAN!
CIA-RAW-MOSSAD
10. Jan, 2012
We are keeping close tabs on the authors and commentators in this forum and will soon retaliate in ways you have not dreamed of. Pakistan will be broken.
S Balu
10. Jan, 2012
CIA/RAW/MOSSAD shows CLEARLY that you do NOT have CONFIDENCE in your system and would like achive your objectives at a GUNPOINT i.e. ENSLAVEMENT!
Lastly, point should NOT MISSED by IRN/PAKISTAN that Indian External Minster is RIGHT now at this MINUTE DISCUSSING in zionist entity (tel avive) how to DESTROY IRAN/PAKISTAN!
Tarik Jan
11. Jan, 2012
Comments against United States, Israel, and India are a lot misplaced. The best way to safeguard Pakistan is to give it good governance and improve its economy. Talking of nuclear retaliation against others is absolutely nonsense. This is not Pakistan's policy. Such comments are a trap prepared for Pakistan by some hostile nations — may be India. Opinion Maker should not allow such comments to appear on its website.
Thomas Aquinas
11. Jan, 2012
@Tarik Jan: Judging by the aboslutely biased opinions of the most prolific authors on this site (Brig Raja Asif Haroon, Raja Mujtaba, Raja M Khan, SM Hali etc etc) , everything wrong in Pakistan is to be blamed on the India, USA or Israel. The other commentators are just picking up the tabs and whipping up opinion against the "Satanic" trio: India, USA and Israel
S Balu
11. Jan, 2012
Thomas Aquinas
Pakistan did NOT invade AFGHANISTAN but usa/nato did based on LIES
TALIBAN has ELIMINATED POPPY Growing but under usa/nato occupation poppy grow increased 50 times WHY?
Raymond Davis was CAUGHT RED HANDED with BOMBS and TARGETS why?
why usa/the west cannot give fair prices for tthe resourecs they want instead they want occupy rob and sell them JUNK ARMS?
Moshe Ben-Ze'ev
11. Jan, 2012
I am an officer in the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and I concur with all of Pakistani politician's statements that Israel (and Hindus and Christians) are responsible for all of Pakistan's woes. At the flick of a button, I can switch off all power supply to Karachi, make the Taliban bomb you in Quetta, ground all PIA flights across Iran, and jam all drains and sewers in Lahore. I can make your president visit his chateaux in France while Sindh slips under flood waters. I can also cause dengue fever in Sindh. I also control the drones attacking you in FATA. I am controlling every activity of Hussein Haqqani and even General Kayani & Pasha. There is nothing you can do about it. All your F-16s, JF-17s etc are useles in the face of the drones I am controlling from Tel-Aviv. All your Ghauris and Abdalis are dummies … I control the gangs in Karachi. Tell me, what can you Pakistanis do about it? You are under total control of the RAW-CIA-MOSSAD axis. . In a short while, I shall call Justice Chauduri, Kayani and Shuja Pasha and advise them to let go of Haqqani quietly. They will want money, and I will give them 500K each. Haqqani shall be allowed to go and the CJ will suddenly find no evidence in the memogate scandal. Haqqani will leave. By the way, at least 50 brigadiers and 18 generals, including Kayani and Pasha, are in the pay of the RAW-CIA-MOSSAD axis. They know that there is no hope left in the idea of Pakistan, and are gallantly fighting a reargaurd action to delay the inevitable breakup of Pakistan into more pieces. With the murder of Saleem Shahzad and Dr Baqir Shah, it is evident that the top rungs of the ISI and the Army have lost control of the lower ranks. Luckily, we have all the missile codes and the nuclear codes, and all your nukes and aircraft are now under our control. I control the air you breathe, the water you drink. I control everything in Pakistan. What can you do?