Yet another tumultuous year comes to an end! 2016 witnessed some very interesting events both in the diplomatic as well the political arena. At the diplomatic front, we witnessed change of guard as the Dean of Diplomatic Corps, Rodolfo Martin J Saravia left Pakistan after completing a very long tenure. As a Dean his tenure remained full of fun, challenges and controversies also. Despite all the ifs and buts his tenure as the Dean set some unique precedents making it a Herculean task for his predecessors to follow.

Ambassador Rodolfo went an extra mile to transform the office of the Dean into a “state within the state” and in some measure he accomplished this task – courtesy elements that made optimum use of his good offices to make inroads in the diplomatic community. A good majority of the diplomats were not very happy the way Ambassador Rodolfo gave a new complexion to the otherwise nondescript office of the Dean.

With regards to bilateral relations between Argentina and Pakistan, there are not many worthwhile contributions of Ambassador Rodolfo. Undoubtedly, distance between the two countries is a major hurdle for promotion of bilateral relations, however during the same period Brazil did a lot of things to get close to Pakistan, credit for which goes to former Brazil ambassador Alfredo Leoni. During his tenure Pakistan and Brazil came closer because of extensive bilateral engagement in the fields of politics, business, economy and agriculture.

It may be interesting for diplomats who have arrived recently that the former Argentina and Brazil ambassadors were at daggers drawn, which was also fairly obvious during social and diplomatic gatherings. The ambassador of Brazil had serious reservations like other diplomats on Ambassador Rodolfo’s conduct as a Dean employing all conceivable means to overly project his otherwise humble contributions. Then, there were other issues, which are best if not discussed.

On the issue of new Dean of the diplomatic community we also saw some intriguing moments when Ambassador Rodolfo tried to the hilt to stop former Romanian ambassador Emilian ION from becoming his successor as the Dean. Although, Ambassador Emilian was No 3 after Kazakhstan,   Bahrain, he claimed that the ambassadors of Kazakhstan and Bahrain were not very keen to be the Dean, and will politely decline. Ambassador Rodolfo on the other hand made repeated attempts and finally managed to convince the Kazakhstan ambassador to not step down! There is of course more to it than what meets the eye. Admittedly, Ambassador Rodolfo had given the office of the Dean a new stature and made it more vibrant and relevant. Not a very appropriate apprehension though, he thought a better or equally good successor, a criteria which Emilian met, could overshadow his performance.

The Naltar helicopter tragedy also sought to divide the diplomatic community. Many precious lives were lost in this tragedy. Ambassadors of Romania, South Africa along with some other diplomats survived the crash. Many diplomats were not happy with the authorities the way they handled the post-crash events. The diplomats asked for a detailed and comprehensive inquiry report clearly fixing the responsibility but after some delay they were informed that the crash was due to some technical faults. The government recently announced awards for the victims and survivors but according to sources, the diplomats declined to accept these awards. They conveyed their decision to the Foreign Office officials in a meeting on the subject a few months ago.

In 2016 relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan witnessed some significant improvements. Leadership of both countries held periodic meetings in order to not only review progress on ongoing project such as CASA 1000 but to explore more avenues of bilateral cooperation. The Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, according to Foreign Office sources, is expected to visit Pakistan in March 2017 for ECO summit meeting. During his visit the Tajik and Pakistani leaderships would have a chance to further strengthen bilateral relations. Tajik ambassador Sherali Jononov deserves due credit that relations between Pakistan and Tajikistan have gained strength.

Likewise, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s three day visit to Bosnia during the third week of December has given new impetus to Pakistan, Bosnia relations. Ambassador Nedim Makarvich surely deserves kudos for making this to happen.

In August 2016 Dean of Europe and Ambassador of Romania,  Emilian ION left Pakistan after his seven and half years’ eventful stint. During Ambassador Emilian’s tenure Pakistan, Romania relations got a new lease of life. Ambassador Emilian worked hard to reach out to all segments of Pakistani society with a view to promoting bilateral relations.

On the political front, PTI led by Imran Khan once again staged Dharna II, which met more or less the same fate like Dharna I, nevertheless it successfully brought uneasiness to everyone in power. There is no denying the fact that PTI is indeed not only a threat but within the current scenario the only worthwhile opposition in the country. PTI deserves credit for highlighting issues confronting the have-nots of Pakistan, albeit not with utmost consistency. Imran Khan’s decision to stay at his Bani Gala house while his supporters were being beaten and baton-charged on Islamabad and KPK roads contributed to the disenchantment of party workers. The damage thus caused to the party internally is still unabated. As earlier highlighted in my columns, PTI simply cannot compete with mainstream political parties when it comes it comes to traditional politics. It must remain constantly on the move at least till the time, like other parties, it is able to strengthen its foothold at the grass-root level. PTI must start its electioneering for the 2018 elections without any delay if it really wants a respectable outcome and results.

2016 saw the change of guard at the GHQ with General Qamar Javed Bajwa appointed as the Chief of Army Staff after year long unprecedented speculations. Being No 4 in the seniority list General Bajwa was chosen for considerations best known to the Prime Minister. Apart from professional competence and seniority, personal preferences of the Prime Minister play a major role in this selection. One cannot fathom the wisdom to over play this matter, far beyond what it merited. As disclosed by former COAS, General Pervez Musharraf (Retd) in a recent interview that the Generals naturally feel obliged when chosen being lower in the rung as he felt obliged to the then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when he was appointed as the COAS. However, he was very emphatic in saying that after being appointed a COAS, national interests and the interests of the institution of the Army  become supreme in his conduct.

Another important change of guard took place at the apex court of Pakistan. Justice Saqib Nisar assumed charge as the Chief Justice of Pakistan being the most senior judge. His elevation triggered unnecessary controversies. Opposition parties think that being a “close associate”of the Sharif family in the past, the honorable chief justice is likely to have a soft corner for them. The opposition leader during his speech in the ational Assembly did not mince his words to highlight this aspect. However, Justice Saqib Nisar in his speech dispelled such notions making it abundantly clear that he has to be answerable to God Almighty for all the decisions that he takes as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. Impartiality shall always prevail.

Summing up, like 2015, the year 2016 remained a tumultuous year and the year 2107 is expected to be more eventful being the year of election campaign. We are likely to witness endless political war gaming and  alliances that will come into being. Friends of yesterday, PML (N) and PPP, are likely to become fierce opponents, at least, during the election campaign. Although it appears quite probable that Elections 2018 if held within the existing system, PML (N) will emerge victorious.  PTI and PPP will thus have to come up with some out of the box electioneering to make a worthwhile dent to the ruling party.

While changes at GHQ and in the Supreme Court are essentially cosmetic, what we can look forward to is their contribution in 2017 for the betterment of governance, the people and the country!