Pakistan - Shamsi Air Base A Covert Foriegn Policy

SUPRISING are the ways of the state. With a `final` countdown under way for the American presence at Shamsi airbase in Balochistan to be brought to an end, Pakistanis are still none the wiser about how the base came to be under the control of foreigners. At a broader level, despite much public agitation over drone strikes here, the public at large has been given no real understanding of exactly what role the state plays in the strikes, even if in the unlikely scenario the role is limited to just approving the use of Pakistani airspace for drones. Perhaps there was once an era in which Pakistan`s engagement with outside powers could be conducted in absolute secrecy. But as times have changed, as information has become that much harder to suppress and, perhaps most importantly, as relations with the US continue to deteriorate, the skeletons in the Pakistani state`s closet will keep tumbling out.

Several questions need to be asked. Who authorises the transfer of Pakistani property, whether privately or publicly held, to a third country? Under what law is this transfer arranged? Has parliament been taken into confidence? Is there a need for special legislation to approve ofsuch transfers? In the case of the Shamsi airbase, can Pakistanlegally lease the property out to another country, in this case the UAE, which can then in turn lease it out to another country? And if the airbase itself can be leased out, what about the airspace over and around the base? Does Pakistan not have control of its own airspace? If armed drones are buzzing around Pakistani airspace, who has authorised weapons of war to be used inside Pakistan by a third country and under what law was this authorisation given? Outside the world of espionage and covert wars, there are still important questions. From the leasing out of land, such as in Rahim Yar Khan and Jhal Magsi, for hunting purposes to talk of agricultural land being under the control of foreign countries which can then export the produce for their own use, the state here has flirted with novel uses of its own territory. This is all the more surprising given how frequently the `sovereignty` argument is invoked when these covert deals go awry or a foreign power becomes more assertive of its `rights` over Pakistani territory. In the half-truths and half-lies over the Shamsi airbase, there is an important lesson: the truth will eventually come out, so it would be better for the state to find more transparent ways of conducting foreign policy.