Pakistan and Türkiye enjoy longstanding brotherly relations based on shared history and strategic interests. However, the time has come to transform these relations into practical initiatives that contribute to national economic development. Pakistan’s livestock sector, a backbone of the rural economy, has enormous potential for food security, employment, poverty reduction and export growth. Unfortunately, even after nearly 79 years of independence, Pakistan has failed to achieve self-sufficiency in several essential areas of this sector.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) remains a major threat to Pakistan’s livestock economy. It reduces animal productivity, affects milk and meat production, damages farmers’ incomes and restricts access to international markets. According to various estimates, Pakistan suffers annual economic losses of approximately US$2 billion, equivalent to nearly Rs560 billion. This is an enormous burden that the national economy can no longer afford to ignore.

The solution requires quality vaccines, regular vaccination, disease surveillance, animal movement monitoring and effective diagnostic facilities. Pakistan’s annual FMD vaccine requirement is estimated at approximately 300 million doses, whereas domestic production is believed to be around 20 million doses. This substantial gap highlights our dependence on imports and the urgent need to establish adequate local manufacturing capacity.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s initiative to seek technical cooperation from Türkiye is therefore encouraging. On 4 November 2026, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain met Türkiye’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Irfan Neziroglu. Discussions covered local vaccine production, technical assistance, professional training and livestock development. Türkiye expressed willingness to send a technical delegation to Pakistan. A training programme for 100 Pakistani professionals, beginning with an initial group of approximately 30 participants travelling to Türkiye, was also discussed. The cooperation is expected to support disease-free zones and increase Pakistan’s meat exports.

However, the real question is whether this initiative will produce practical results or eventually become another victim of bureaucratic delays and administrative indifference. Pakistan has witnessed similar cooperation initiatives in February 2025 and March 2026, involving livestock modernisation, vaccine production and disease-free pilot zones. Yet these discussions have not produced a comprehensive and sustainable national vaccine manufacturing system.

India offers an important lesson. Facilities for large-scale FMD vaccine production were established at the Bengaluru campus of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute in 1972, with commercial production beginning in 1976. Indian Immunologicals Limited was subsequently established in 1982. China, Türkiye and Iran have also developed their veterinary vaccine production and disease-control capabilities. Why, then, has Pakistan failed to achieve comparable progress over several decades?

This historic failure demands an independent investigation. The government should establish an independent judicial commission to examine why Pakistan could not establish an effective and sustainable domestic FMD vaccine production system. Previous projects, government expenditure, budgets, foreign agreements and institutional performance must be scrutinised. The commission should determine whether policy discontinuity, poor planning, administrative failures, financial irregularities or institutional indifference contributed to this national setback. Its purpose should be to establish responsibility, recommend institutional reforms and prevent further national losses.

Pakistan must now convert cooperation with Türkiye into a comprehensive national action plan. This should include a modern vaccine manufacturing plant meeting international biosafety standards, research on locally circulating virus strains, advanced diagnostic laboratories, an effective cold-chain system and phased nationwide vaccination. Disease-free pilot zones should be established with proper animal identification, movement monitoring and internationally recognised disease surveillance systems.

A joint Pakistan-Türkiye technical working group should be established with clear responsibilities, dedicated funding, measurable targets and a fixed implementation schedule. Experienced veterinary scientists, universities and research institutions must play a leading role. Training Pakistani professionals should not remain an isolated activity; it must lead to lasting domestic scientific and manufacturing capacity. Farmers must also be active partners in the programme.

Perhaps Pakistan’s greatest weakness is the short-term vision of its political leadership. Political parties remain preoccupied with upcoming elections, electoral victories and the acquisition of power, while long-term national planning receives little attention. We urgently need policies designed for the next 20 to 30 years rather than decisions driven by electoral cycles. Without institutional continuity and a national development vision, Pakistan will continue falling behind other nations despite its considerable resources and human potential.

The objective of cooperation with Türkiye must therefore extend beyond foreign technical assistance. Pakistan must develop the ability to manufacture its own vaccines, train its own scientists and meet its national requirements independently. The proposed cooperation should become a permanent national programme rather than another announcement followed by committees, meetings and unfulfilled promises.

After 79 years of independence, Pakistan needs practical results, not another cycle of promises. FMD eradication is not merely a veterinary matter; it is directly linked to economic stability, food security, farmers’ prosperity and international trade.

The ultimate question is whether Pakistan will finally learn from its past failures, establish genuine self-reliance and hold institutions accountable, or allow another promising national initiative to disappear into bureaucratic files. How much longer must our farmers and national economy pay the price of this historic neglect?

Dr Alamdar Hussain Malik
Advisor Academics, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Swat
Former Financial Advisor, Finance Division, Government of Pakistan