Adil Najam

(Editor’s Note: This  is the first in a series on Pakistan’s New Growth Startegy. The Planning Commission of Pakistan has invited ideas and suggestions on this and we invite and encourage our readers to please help in highlighting the best and most innovative ideas they can think of. Have your say.)

I have been planning to write this post for most of a month. I have kept postponing because more sensational and urgent “news” kept coming in the way and I did not want our readers’ attention so diverted on the immediate that they ignored the important. All of this to say two things: First, I believe that the topic of this post is truly and deeply important and I really do hope that our readers will think very deeply about this and give us their very best feedback and ideas on this. Second, I was wrong in my original assessment and should really not have waited – the sensational and the urgent are forever with us (especially in Pakistan) and should never distract us from the important. And, ‘important’ is what this post is about!

The Planning Commission of Pakistan – now headed by Dr. Nadeem ul Haque, an out-spoken economist; international economic policy expert; former head of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economists (PIDE); and a friend and erstwhile contributor to ATP – has embarked on a fresh and bold initiative to develop a new growth policy for Pakistan – a ‘New Development Approach.’ At a time when many of us (I certainly stand accused) are caught up in the politics of the moment and immediate concerns, here is a strong, timely and very welcome initiative to think long-term – beyond the dynamics of today’s politics or this government or that – about exactly what will get our economic house in order on a sustainable and long-term basis. What do we need to do today, that will make improve economic and developmental conditions tomorrow?

A for [Pine]Apple

Adil Najam

UPDATE POST HERE: March 16, 2011: Raymond Davis Released! This Story Ain’t Over Yet!

Strangely, the more we get to know about the case of Raymond Davis, the less we seem to know. Even more strangely, the fact that the entire incident happened in broad daylight and in front of dozens of witnesses seems is itself confusing the facts rather than adding clarity. Moreover, it seems that no one seems to want to get much clarity either; although different parties may want different parts of the story to ‘disappear.’ The incident was rather eerie and disturbing to begin with; and it continues to become more so.

Here is what one does know. Raymond Davis, a staff member of the US Consulate in Lahore shot two Pakistani men dead on Thursday in a crowded part of Lahore (Mozang Chowk), according to him in self-defense. A US Consulate vehicle that rushed in to ‘rescue’ Mr. David then ran over a third person, who also died. A murder case was then registered against Raymond Davis, who was handed into police custody. A case has also been registered against the driver of the US Consulate vehicle that ran over a third person, but the driver has not yet been apprehended. After a fair deal of scrambling by both US and Pakistani officials on what to do or say, the positions of both have now started becoming clear and they have taken the stance that is usually taken in such cases: the US is asking that Raymond Davis, as a diplomatic functionary, should be handed back to them; Pakistan seems to be responding that the matter is sub judice and should take its course.

Beyond that, there are more questions than answers. For most part, these questions fall into three categories: (1) Questions about who is Raymond Davis? (2) Questions about exactly what happened at Mozang, Lahore? (3) Questions about what should happen now ?