Seventy-four years of Pakistan’s external relations

“Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all the nations of the world. We do not cherish aggressive designs against any country or nation” outlined Jinnah in a broadcast talk to the people of the USA in February 1948. This foreign policy agenda could not be materialised as Pakistan found itself engaged in a futile war with its immediate neighbour and arch-rival India, right after inception. Pakistan’s foreign relations, like domestic circumstances, have been unstable since birth. The turbulence can be attributed to a few birth defects that Pakistan was born with at the time of partition.

Foreign policy (FP), like domestic policy, is shaped by different agents and factors. Some have a dominant role to play and others, a minimal one. In Pakistan’s case, the military-industrial complex has had high stakes in its internal and external politics, and consequently, influenced the foreign policy a great deal. Pakistan’s Islamic ideology has also had its share in steering the boat of FP. The geostrategic location has proved both, a blessing and a curse for the country that is still in its teenage. In retrospect, Pakistan has had a colourful (euphemism intended) history concerning its foreign relations.

When it comes to neighbours, it would be hard to say we’re too blessed. On the Eastern front, India, since partition, affirmed that Pakistan will have a short life, and it will have to rejoin India to survive. This pushed the newly born state of Pakistan to be a security state, fighting for survival. One can argue that some of it has been in fact, paranoia. Thus, our paranoia-driven foreign policy, for the most part, has circled countering our eastern neighbour. The wars of 1947-48 and 1965 were fought over Kashmir, a long-standing bone of contention between the two countries, and countless other skirmishes have taken place in vain. This enmity and some internal injustices paved way for the East Pakistan debacle, 1971, which ignited another Indo-Pak war. To counter the Indian threat, Pakistan looked for allies and found one in China. Occasionally, the USA has also been Pakistan’s way out, but not anymore. In 1998, Pakistan first conducted successful nuclear tests, establishing itself as a nuclear power. Since then, it is caught up in an arms race with India. This further deteriorated its relations with India as well as the USA. More recently, the BJP government revoked the special status of Kashmir in an attempt to take full control over it, and Pakistan is, predictably, upset.

On the north-western front, we have Afghanistan, which is another unhappy neighbour, thanks to Pakistan’s strategic mistakes. The Pakistani security establishment tried to pursue the policy of strategic depth by deploying some proxies in Afghanistan, but it has evidently backfired. On both sides of the border are Pashtuns, which adds to our insecurities regarding territorial integrity. The Durand Line dispute has also been an obstacle in the way of normalised Pak-Afghan relations. To our North is China, of course, our best friend, our ally, and our only hope. Pak-China friendship has stood the test of time. The bilateral relations are pleasant, and Pakistan did almost everything to appease its childhood friend. The development of CPEC is another milestone, marking healthy relations between the two countries. One hopes both states will equally benefit from political and economic ties.

To the south-west is Iran, with which we have successfully avoided direct conflict. Saudi-Pak ties have hindered better Pak-Iran relations. Nevertheless, Pakistan and Iran have cooperated on several matters from economy to security. Unlike India, Pakistan chose a side in the cold war. It sided with the USA against USSR and aided the USA against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. We are still paying the price for the faulty decisions made then. Post 9/11 circumstances provided Pakistan with another opportunity to benefit from American assistance. Pakistan has been a key ally of the US in the war on terror. Pakistan was created on the premise of Islam so naturally, it sought good relations with Muslim countries. The Islamic Republic tried to be a leader in the Muslim world, and of course, failed due to its political and economic instability. Recent developments reflect that the Pak-Saudi friendship has also taken a hit. However, relations with Turkey and Malaysia seem to have improved.

The challenges for Pakistan’s Foreign Policy makers are manifold and multidimensional. Pakistan is often accused of providing a haven to terrorists and backing them financially. One of the greatest challenges for Pakistan is to tackle terrorism wisely to garner a positive reputation in the world. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has recently announced that Pakistan will remain on the grey list or the increased monitoring list till it addresses the task of “investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups”.

Another huge challenge for Pakistan’s FP is the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. There is a civil war in Afghanistan between the Taliban and the government. After the withdrawal of US troops, the Taliban are quickly taking over more and more Afghan territories. The prospects of a peaceful political solution to the Afghan war are slim. It would be naive to not fear a spillover of Talibanisation into Pakistan. Pakistan must terminate its alleged backing of the Afghan Taliban. The policy to gain strategic depth using proxies has failed and must be abandoned before the Taliban gain a strategic depth in Pakistan. Peace in Afghanistan is a prerequisite for peace in our country. Policy makers must handle the situation in our northwestern neighbour with prudence and foresight. The assault of the Afghan ambassador’s daughter in Islamabad made rounds on the news and it has only worsened things between Islamabad and Kabul.

A paradigm shift in Foreign Policy is required to elevate Pakistan’s global stature. A shift from geo-strategy to geo-economy is the need of the hour. Pakistan must use its geographic location as leverage to improve its economy. We need to change our FP tools from sticks to carrots and that is not possible if diplomacy and economy are not our priority. Military superiority is insufficient without economic prosperity. Our focus must be on soft power, as opposed to hard power or at least both ought to be balanced out. This is especially important to improve ties with India, without which prosperity seems like a distant dream. Pakistan has already achieved its goal of survival alongside a hostile eastern neighbour. Now it must shift its attention to other goals like welfare for which it has to foster better foreign relations with its immediate neighbours and international powers. On the other hand, Pakistan has to keep the Kashmir issue alive and both countries must respect the UN resolutions in this regard. Rapprochement with India can solve half of our problems.

The world order seems to be shifting from unipolar to bipolar. China is a new contender for global supremacy, and it has unsettled the USA, which is now aligning with India to counter the Chinese threat. Amid all this, Pakistan will have to act cautiously to avoid getting caught up in another cold war and retain its friendly ties with both, China and the USA. When asked by an Axios journalist whether he would allow the CIA to use Pakistani territory to counter terrorism in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Imran Khan replied, “absolutely not.” This is a good omen for Pakistan’s Foreign Policy future and Pakistan must remain firm on its stance. The EU parliament has adopted a resolution that calls for reviewing Pakistan’s GSP+ status. This came after massive protests in Pakistan against France and increased registered blasphemy cases along with attacks on journalists. The EU has signalled Pakistan to do better when it comes to securing the human rights of minorities. If Pakistan wants to forge good economic and political ties with giants like the EU, it must improve the human rights situation at home. Tensions have been eased between Iran and Saudi Arabia which Pakistan can use to its advantage. Instead of taking sides, it should seek amicable relations with both countries.

Amidst growing Pak-Afghan tensions, a hostile India, unhappy USA, Pakistan has to thrive. To add fuel to the fire, China is also distressed over the Kohistan bus incident in which nine Chinese nationals died. At present, what Pakistan can do to seek redemption is to learn from the past mistakes and not repeat them. These daunting Foreign Policy challenges can only be dealt with if an internal political consensus is forged and priorities are set right. The civil-military divide ought to be bridged and the military’s involvement in political decision making has to be minimised. Economic welfare is the key to attain foreign policy objectives in this globalised world and China is a next-door example of that. Thus, political and economic stability and intellectual acumen can save Pakistan in these turbulent external circumstances. However, the ultimate shape and form of Pakistan’s foreign policy in future will be determined by how the events unfold in the region.

-The author is a social activist and international relations scholar. She can be reached at: areejfatyma549@gmail.com