It all began with a joint statement at the conclusion of the Saudi crown prince’s visit to Pakistan that called for immediate replacement of the existing Syrian government with an international authority. This triggered a debate in the media since this effectively meant that Pakistan had changed its policy of non-interference in Syria.
This also meant that Pakistan endorsed the Saudi policy of regime change in Syria.
This was followed by the disclosure of a foreign donation of 3 billion dollars in a development fund without actually naming the donor "friendly Muslim country". Somehow, it was made to divulge the name of that country as Saudi Arabia. It was variously understood to be a loan, grant and gift. While it was also said the loan had come on the personal guarantee of the prime minister, the last denomination -- ‘gift’ -- stuck.
For all practical purposes, the 1.5 billion dollars received by Pakistan so far are a gift from the friendly country. And the Pakistani government is insisting that this money has come with no strings attached; that there is not going to be any foreign policy change in its wake, least of all in the Middle East. We will not send our troops or sell our arms to any country in the Middle East, the ministers repeat.
Given our recent unpleasant history, there are doubts in people’s minds. Burdened by terrorism of all kinds, they are wary of how in the past money from abroad was used to fan sectarianism in Pakistan. A further radicalisation of this country is the last thing the people want. As Dr Hasan-Askari Rizvi rightly says, "The government must make sure that the Middle Eastern states do not play a proxy war on Pakistan soil. This will further fragment and degenerate Pakistan society and state".
There are concerns because Pakistan is doing nothing to balance its foreign policy objectives by a meaningful engagement with Iran.
Since there are assumptions that a foreign policy shift has already taken place, the dangers of intolerance and violence cannot be undermined. The sense of déjà vu is too strong to be ignored.