Pakistan is presently confronted with a complex political challenge in two of its provinces NWFP and Balochistan that has grown into a serious threat to its territorial integrity. The misrule and short-sighted policies of the last sixty years, over one half of which was by army dictators, have precipitated hostilities in these areas that have held hostage the peace and well being of the entire nation. The economic meltdown during the last year and a half and the return of begging bowl to the reluctant donors is a link in the same chain. Let us go a little back in history. A majority of the people of NWFP voted in favour of Pakistan in a referendum held in 1946 boycotted by the Khudai khidmatgar who held majority in the assembly at the time. The province became an integral part of the country and its people are adequately represented in the army, bureaucracy, agriculture, trade, industry and politics. Three out of seven presidents of Pakistan hailed from the NWFP as did several armed forces chiefs. The seven Khyber agencies are federally administered under a political agent operating through a traditional jirga system with no jurisdiction of the Pakistani laws, though they elect their own members for the National Assembly and Senate. The agencies are male dominated with a low literacy and few human rights. They have remained under developed except for basic services, roads for supplies and movement, a few schools and hospitals necessary for survival. Neither the ordinary people have been inducted in the national mainstream nor their youth have they been provided with any schemes of earning a livelihood locally that has turned the region into a hub for smuggling and other illegal activities. Lately, these agencies have been seized by the new phenomenon of Pakistani Taliban, who have taken up arms against our army on one side and the US and NATO forces on the other. Balochistan has been a trouble spot almost ever since it agreed to accede to be a province of Pakistan in 1946 and the princely states of Dir and Kalat were annexed the following year. A number of separatist groups have engaged in an armed struggle dreaming of creating a Greater Balochistan slicing areas from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran. An uprising by Nawab Nowroz in 1958 and a more serious one in the seventies led by Baloch leaders Marri, Bizenjo and Mengal and supported by Wali Khan and Mufti Mahmood from the NWFP had to be put down by the army. Oddly, Nawab Akbar Bugti remained the centre appointed governor of the province during this entire period while the six month old governments in Balochistan and NWFP were dismissed by Prime Minister Bhutto, the leaders were arrested, charged with high treason and their political parties were banned. The insurgency ended soon after General Ziaul Haq overthrew the democratic government. (Nawab Bugti was killed in 2006 while under siege by the army). A few sardars continue to uphold their Baloch identity over and above Pakistani nationalism and are fiercely obsessed with the demand of the sole ownership of the abundant natural resources in their province. The province has remained a neglected backwater due to the insurgencies by these separatist groups that have opposed development projects. The people of FATA and the Pushtoons of Balochistan are closely linked with the Afghans on the other side of the unmarked and largely unmanned 2600 kilometres long Pak-Afghan border, across which they freely move, trade, intermarry and establish residence. Pakistan chose to align with Washington in the fifties at the beginning of the cold war and thus alienated USSR that was the other emerging superpower. Generous US aid flowed in and the nation became dependent and accustomed to the glamorous imported military equipment, luxury goods and a gratifying life without the hard work and sacrifices needed to build a solid indigenous manufacturing and industrial base that is imperative for any nation to survive with honour. The industrial revolution of Ayub Khan was also oriented towards establishing large imported plants and mega projects without obtaining technology for building the machines and spare parts at home. The 'permit regime' created the famous 22 super rich families of the country that monopolised the Pakistani industry for more than three decades by using influence to kill competition by aspiring new entrants in their fields. Our economists blindly followed the American dogma of free trade that favoured the developed nations instead of promoting self-reliance. Our foreign policy became entirely subservient to the American interests as a consequence of our economic dependence and insatiable desire for their military equipment and our economy into a supplier of raw material, net importer of finished goods and deficient in food despite fertile land and excellent irrigation system. It has become apparent, in hindsight, that the Americans were never interested in the economic development of Pakistan or promoting the institution of democracy. They patronised the four military dictators (easy to deal with one strong man) and gave billions of dollars in aid to fight their jihad and War On Terror that made some people very rich leaving the national coffers empty. The democratic governments were penalised by imposing economic sanctions and the military was prompted to overthrow them at the slightest expression of independence. China and India resisted the temptation of easy money and opted for austerity and faith in their inner strengths during the same period that did not push them into oblivion. Instead, they are now claiming equality with the world powers while we have been on the brink of collapse time and again to be gratefully rescued by those very people who pushed us there. What is most disturbing is that a grass-roots Peoples Party with immense personal sacrifices to its credit is once again following the same easy route to disaster by surrendering to American interests in bombing its own populace in utter disregard to their sentiments and by seeking charity from developed nations. The party of the people should be looking inwards to analyse and assess the capabilities, strengths and weaknesses of the nation and mobilise its potential to resolve issues indigenously. We should be making our own choices of foreign, economic, religious, cultural and political policies and not be afraid of temporary hardships. The over 3 million people of FATA and others inhabiting all along the Pak-Afghan border are patriotic Pakistanis infiltrated by a few thousand militants aided by certain miscreants in the name of resistance to the American occupation. The exclusive use of military power will force these militants to scatter and regroup and is unlikely to eliminate them while some of the people whose kin are wounded, killed or rendered homeless will lose faith in their own government. We must address their misgivings and lack of trust in the collaboration of our military with the American anti-terrorism campaign due to which anyone cooperating with them is targeted as spies or their enemy. The carrot of meagre American financial assistance far outweighs the collateral damage in the shape of innocent lives, displacement of people and the political cost to democracy. The proven PPP skills that forged an unprecedented consensus among politicians can succeed in bringing the tribal insurgency under control by compromise and concessions, negotiated and guaranteed at the highest level. To ensure peace in FATA, Balochistan and the border areas today is to ensure peace in Pakistan. A major shift in economic policy from over-dependence on international bailouts to self-reliance is long overdue. Democracy should restore confidence in the country and demand participation of people in preventing capital flight, brain drain and wasteful expenditure of public money. Our expatriates remitted 20 percent more this year ($6 billion) than the same period last year. This amount can be doubled if our leaders invest the time they consume pleading with the American controlled financial institutions and funds, in motivating Pakistanis locally and those living abroad. We are desperate to borrow in order to avoid 'default' that is non-payment of interest on our existing debts. Why can we not hold the debtors responsible for their coercion in getting our cooperation in their War On Terror that has devastated our economy and our social order and boldly tell them to wait for the payments till we stand on our own feet without their help? Why should we borrow to pay the same back to them and sink deeper in debt? It is time we forego dreaming of grandeur and begin living within our means and servicing our own people instead of foreigners. The strength of democracy should be not to flow with the tide but to turn the tide in our direction. The writer is an engineer and an entrepreneur