A country's foreign policy is deeply connected to its internal situation, said former Pakistani ambassador Zamir Akram as he spoke at a talk on foreign policy in Karachi on Monday evening, He emphasised the need for Pakistan to formulate a comprehensive strategy and enhance cooperation with friendly nations.
The discussion, titled 'Pakistan’s Foreign Policy in a Changing International Landscape,' was organised by the South Asia Forum and featured intellectuals, political leaders and formed civil and military officials, including Javed Jabbar and Nasreen Jalil.
Addressing Pakistan’s relations with India, Afghanistan, China and the United States, Akram noted that economic instability significantly impacted foreign affairs. He highlighted a key contrast between Pakistan and India’s democratic evolution, attributing it to the fact that Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah did not have as much time to shape the country’s political landscape as Jawaharlal Nehru had in India.
Due to the leadership vacuum, Pakistan faced constitutional challenges from the outset, which also hindered democratic progress, he added. Akram also discussed the shifting global power dynamics, stating that the United States, once an indispensable global power, began facing significant challenges after 1992, particularly terrorism. In response to its global war on terror, the US spent over $3 trillion. Meanwhile, China emerged as the world’s second-most powerful economy. “The China-US competition has now turned into a China-US confrontation,” he remarked.
He pointed out that both countries were competing in three key areas: military and strategic affairs, economic and trade relations, and emerging technologies. He warned that flashpoints for potential conflict could be Taiwan or the South China Sea.
Commenting on the situation in Western Europe, Akram said it was once unthinkable that after the World War II, Europeans would again be at war. “This is also a consequence of US policies since the end of the Cold War,” he noted.
He explained that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, when Russia was economically weak, the US led the reunification of Germany while verbally assuring Russia that NATO would not expand towards its borders. “The Russians were foolish to accept this verbal commitment,” Akram remarked, pointing out that NATO had since continued to expand towards Russia.
Referring to the 2014 crisis in Ukraine, he claimed that the US played a role in inspiring regime change, which led Russia to annex Crimea.
Despite efforts to find a diplomatic solution, attempts to bring Ukraine under NATO continued, escalating tensions, he said. He warned that NATO and Russia both possessed nuclear weapons, and, according to the UN secretary general, the world was now closer to nuclear conflict than ever before.
Regarding the Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, Akram urged Pakistan to treat Afghanistan as an independent sovereign state rather than as a client state. Discussing Pakistan-China relations, he described them as a potential game changer but stressed that Pakistan must “get its act together” to fully benefit from the partnership.
He called for better security for Chinese delegations, noting that while American delegations were currently not hesitant to visit Pakistan, Chinese officials were not willing to come here due to security concerns.
The former ambassador also criticised Pakistan’s handling of Chinese projects, stating that many initiatives had stalled due to Pakistani authorities’ incompetence. He urged the government to ensure timely implementation of these projects to strengthen bilateral cooperation.