Must be in line with our national interests
Governments in Pakistan have often taken decisions that in the long term benefitted others than the country itself. The consequences of Zia’s agreement to jump into the US proxy war in Afghanistan suited him personally while it also helped Washington avenge the defeat in Vietnam. The highly negative consequences of the decision however continue to haunt Pakistan even after more than three decades in the form of extremism, militancy, and the resulting human suffering. It is heartening, therefore, to hear from Gilani that Pakistan being a sovereign country the government would do whatever suits us, and from Khar that we do not make our bilateral relations contingent on views and policies of any third country.
The statements have been made in the context of Islamabad’s deal with Iran on the Pak-Iran gas pipeline. Alongside the gas, Iran has agreed to export 1,000 megawatt electricity to Pakistan to help overcome the country’s energy crisis that has crippled the industry and has harmed the trade. Pakistan hopes to export wheat, fertiliser, cement and fruit to Iran. A proposal concerning import of gas in return for wheat is also reportedly under discussion. Bilateral trade between the two countries is projected to rise to $5 billion target. The snag lies, however, in the US opposition to the gas deal with Iran. Hints have been thrown about taking recourse to the disincentives available to Washington if Pakistan was to disregard the US sanctions on Iran. That argument that Islamabad is bound to implement only international sanctions is correct in principle but then the country receives US aid which can be stopped if Washington thinks it does not serve its national interests.
There is a need under the circumstances to give a dispassionate consideration to all the related aspects of the matter. Hard questions have to be asked. These include whether Islamabad is ready to forgo US aid, live without the military hardware supplied by the US and fight the terrorists on its own. The issues require a thorough debate in Parliament leading to the formulation of a policy regarding the US at the earliest. This will help us take decisions which are in line with our national requirement.