31 May 2020, NIICE Commentary 5150
Saumya Joshi
It was a need of the hour for Pakistan and the new Prime Minister; Imran Khan who assured to the international community through his first digitized speech that Pakistan also acknowledges the essence of International relation and planned to focus on Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Wazarat-e-Kharja). This was a sensible decision as Pakistan was lacking behind in its foreign policy and Imran Khan’s hands were full of issues related to foreign policy contradictions amid the India-Pakistan negotiations and US-China competition. The world was expecting from Pakistan to build strategic individual relationship along with rebranding its international reputation of a ‘rogue state’.
With the economic crises in the country, the real challenge for Imran Khan was not only to coordinate with the Pakistan Army but also to maintain peace through the new dimensions of the foreign policy of Pakistan. So, the question comes whether Imran Khan has been able to deliver his words into action with (peace) “Aman aur Shanti”?
To start with, the US have been the most important ally of Pakistan since late 80’s. In order to have a strong hold in Afghanistan, America is dependent on Pakistan to fight the war against Taliban terrorists because of its strategic location. “Naya Pakistan” with the new set of policies, started building peace between Afghanistan and the US to normalize the tensions as Pakistan had immense pressure from the US to control Afghanistan crises. It is also playing an important role to work out on relations of Iran-Saudi, Tehran-Washington, and Taliban-US. Recently, during the US-Iran tensions, Pakistan mediated between the two countries and emphasized on the implications of disastrous result in the gulf region. Also, Pakistan witnesses a strategic opportunity to develop stronger ties with Iran whereas with the US, Pakistan already has a mutually benefitted relationship.
But when it comes to India then, Indo-Pak relations are stalled on the issue of Kashmir. The year 2019 started with disturbances at Line of Control (LOC) because of continuous firing. On 14 February 2019, an unexpected suicide terror attack took place when a young Kashmiri militant killed 40 Indian soldiers who were moving in a convoy in the vehicle. This time India had no plans to absorb any terrorist activity backed by Pakistan, to which India replied on 26 February 2019, by sending Indian warplanes on Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) which carried out a tactful airstrike. This came to an end when one MIG21 was shot and crash landed on Pakistani soil. One Indian air force pilot was also captured by Pakistani forces however, it was soon the tensions were de-escalated by his release.
Moreover, India continued to have strong stance on Kashmir issue at diplomatic level and on 5 August 2019, a decision was made by the Indian government by revoking articles 370 and 35(A) which provided special status to Kashmir. On the other hand, Pakistan’s Prime Minister tried to make efforts by calling US to mediate and criticized India’s action on Kashmir’s special status in UN General Assembly. Though, nothing worked in favor of Pakistan but Imran Khan had received applauses in his country for his rigid stance. Similarly, there are continuous discussions between the two in regard to the convicted Indian Kulbhushan Yadav with no solution which has led Indo-Pak relations towards declination.
Amid all these tensions between the two, Pakistan willingly stepped forward to complete the Kartarpur Corridor joint project. Despite the USD 20 facilitation fee, Pakistan was all set to have a grand welcome of the Sikh pilgrims at Kartarpur Sahib by November 2019. This was a historic development for both, India and Pakistan.
But Pakistan played another card by uploading a welcome video for Sikh pilgrims to Kartarpur in which a wall poster of the terrorist Bhindranwale and Khalistan 2020 was shown. This action of Pakistan closed all doors of India’s hope to reach any consensus.
As far as China-Pak relations are concerned, both pursuit a relation of romanticism. China thinks that by helping Pakistan to defend India in any scenario will move China closer to Pakistan and will be a substitute of the US as a source of economic and military aid. Similarly, they also stress the need to sustain momentum on China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Conclusion
The variation of “Naya” Pakistan’s foreign policy is very visible to all the developed and developing countries. It has tried to start a fresh with countries like Iran and Russia where Pakistan gives clear message that it is slowly heading towards diplomatic stability and is no more under the influence of the US and China. It should also be noted that Pakistan has observed some advantages in its foreign policy because of its geopolitical status. But on the other hand, its incapability to contain terrorism, emerging from its very own soil has faced alienation from some major powers and created antipathy among its neighbors. Hence, it may be recommended that Pakistan’s foreign policy should continue to make small transitions at minor level with both the US and China. These will make Pakistan a self- reliable developing country. However, Pakistan should maintain good relations with India to show remarkable achievement, as India factor factors most in Pakistan’s foreign policy. There is a need to reach a flexible consensus which is agreeable to both. Pakistan must understand that “Aman aur Shanti” in words holds no value unless it is converted into action. For that, Pakistan must act to contain terror groups on its soil with immediate effect as ordered by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which will open doors for dialogue with India.
