Pakistan has for decades avoided importing gas and oil from Iran because of the fear of sanctions, but India boldly defied these sanctions to buy oil at highly discounted rates. Why is Pakistan wary of sanctions?
SANCTIONS
Pakistan has for decades avoided importing gas and oil from Iran because of the fear of sanctions, but India boldly defied these sanctions to buy oil at highly discounted rates. Why is Pakistan wary of sanctions?
Sanctions, often intended to isolate and punish, can paradoxically spark self-reliance and resilience in the targeted nations. Countries like Cuba, Iran and Russia responded to external economic pressures by developing indigenous capabilities, fostering internal innovation and reducing dependence on global powers.
Can Pakistan do the same if ever confronted with economic sanctions or isolation? To answer this, we must first understand the ingredients that helped some nations turn adversity into opportunity: a clear national ideology, social cohesion, effective governance, a resource base, and leadership resolve. Applying these filters to Pakistan offers a mixed picture.
Pakistan certainly possesses a strong national identity, rooted in its Islamic foundations and a historical narrative of resisting foreign dominance. However, this unity is often undermined by ethnic divisions, political polarisation and economic inequality, which fracture the national focus during crises.
There’s also no denying the resilience of Pakistani society. Whether in response to floods, earthquakes or economic shocks, communities have shown remarkable solidarity and improvisation. Yet this resilience remains uneven. The elite often escape hardship while the common citizen bears the brunt. Without a sense of shared sacrifice, long-term austerity under sanctions becomes unsustainable.
Where Pakistan significantly lags is in governance and state capacity. Countries like Iran and Russia have faced sanctions with robust planning mechanisms and institutional discipline. In contrast, Pakistan struggles with policy inconsistency, elite capture, corruption and a weak tax regime. Without a functioning state machinery capable of strategic execution, the rhetoric of self-reliance remains hollow.
Countries like Iran and Russia have faced sanctions with robust planning mechanisms and institutional discipline. In contrast, Pakistan struggles with policy inconsistency
Pakistan does have economic and strategic potential. It boasts a large agricultural sector, a growing IT industry, natural resources, and a strategic location connecting South, Central and West Asia. Yet this potential is chronically underutilised due to reliance on imports, a large undocumented economy, and weak industrial depth. A nation that imports basic necessities like edible oil, lentils, and machinery cannot withstand the shock of isolation unless these gaps are addressed.
Above all, the missing piece is consistent, visionary leadership. In the absence of long-term economic planning and with constant regime changes, Pakistan has often chosen foreign borrowing over reform, subsidies over productivity and short-term appeasement over long-term resilience. The result is a nation highly vulnerable to external pressure, not because of a lack of strength, but due to a lack of will.
If faced with sanctions, Pakistan does not have to collapse. It could, like others, use the moment to: Adopt a bold economic doctrine of self-reliance. Protect and nurture domestic industries. Invest in research and innovation. Encourage austerity with equity, not just for the poor but for the elite too. Mobilise youth, women and local governments as active contributors to economic recovery
In short, sanctions test national character. For some, they expose weakness. For others, they become the catalyst for reinvention. Whether Pakistan rises or falls in such a moment will depend not on resources, but on resolve, unity and a willingness to put the nation above vested interests.
The writer is a freelance contributor.
