Pakistan's Economic Driven Foreign Policy | Arslan Zahid Khan | Current Affairs |

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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”.
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