The interplay of neocolonialism, containment and Pakistan’s fragile sovereignty
“This backlash of the former Taliban leader’s killing was inevitable. Mullah Mansur was killed by a drone strike in Balochistan. This incident certainly put a strain on Pakistan’s relations with the United States of America (USA).”
Hostile neighbours surround Pakistan and envision to encircle it by castrating its economic growth, whereas the plague of terrorism has already spread across the South Asian region. Pakistan’s western borders have been highly problematic and prone to insurgency. On the other side, there is India, which is successfully furthering its regional hegemonic designs. Then there are economic and strategic aspects to the rivalry between US and China, as Pakistan is the playing ground for their neocolonialist policies. The interdependency of economics and geography coupled with geostrategic implications presents a very precarious situation where all the players make individual strategic moves, but it affects the entire region. Pakistan is being ‘contained’ by surrounding neighbours, as Iran, India and Afghanistan’s leaders met recently to improve strategic ties via the Chabhar port project, which is seemingly a countermeasure to Pakistan’s Gawadar port.
Let us talk about India first, the demonised neighbor with hegemonic designs. India is simply taking an opportunity that Pakistan has lost. After the sanctions on Iran were uplifted, Pakistan failed to make any concrete efforts for strengthening bilateral ties. India’s regional designs were extremely methodical with a solid, long-term planning strategy. The cooperation of Iran and Afghanistan for a trade and transit route was essential for a passageway to more markets that are international. It saves India a lot of distance and gives it access to the Central Asian Republics (CARs) via Afghanistan. As many seem to believe, it is highly likely that India is strategising to encircle Pakistan in many ways. Trade, Terrorism, Transit, Trafficking, Smuggling, everything within the course of its entrapment will be consumed by the tide. It gives a naval advantage to India as well, especially with respect to the issue of acquisition of nuclear submarines.
Iran’s foreign office recently made a statement saying that we offered the port to Pakistan first and the offer is still on the table. Chabhar port is of extreme strategic importance to Iran because of multiple facets of the situation. Iran wants to enhance its trade opportunities because it is now free to engage in trade after the uplifting of sanctions. The geostrategic implications of this situation would aid Iran in solidifying its position in the region. This would enable Iran to reignite its economy but it will take some time.
“Pakistan should establish itself as a sovereign nation otherwise it will always remain a frontline state and a battleground for proxy wars.”
Ashraf Ghani recently said that neighbours should not export terrorism to other countries. This backlash of the former Taliban leader’s killing was inevitable. Mullah Mansur was killed by a drone strike in Balochistan. This incident certainly put a strain on Pakistan’s relations with the United States of America (USA). The USA-Afghanistan-Pakistan nexus of power is going through a paradigm shift and this is essential for understanding USA’s concerns about terrorism. The withdrawal of the NATO forces from Afghanistan plays a pivotal role in this situation. Barrack Obama recently said that the former Taliban leader was rightly killed because the Taliban were posing a threat to US troops. This shows that it is a clear message for Pakistan.
The United States has always employed the carrot and stick approach when it comes to its relations with Pakistan. Recently, Pakistan was denied the sale of F-16s because of the past events. After the incident of Mullah Mansur’s killing by the US forces on Pakistan’s soil, USA approves a new reimbursement fund for Pakistan. This incident was a direct violation of Pakistan’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The carrot part happens with the new reimbursement fund suddenly arriving on the scene. The stick part was when it refused the sale of jets to Pakistan and then carried out a covert military operation, which resulted in the killing of Mullah Mansur by drone strike in Baluchistan. This is the second time that the Obama administration has violated Pakistan’s national sovereignty. There were statements pointing in the direction that Pakistan’s establishment had been informed before the drone strike but then there were some reactionary statements, which meekly questioned this violation of political sovereignty.
The tale of the missing foreign minister has been expressed quite a number of times but the ruling party has taken no notice of this deficiency, as it has employed political advisors instead of ministers for important tasks. It is an extremely strange case of arrogance or maybe it is a result of the shifting balance of power in the favour of the military. The Prime Minister must appoint a foreign minister for at least symbolic purposes because the GHQ would still be giving commands at the backend, as it has done in the previous PPP regime. The state’s already blurred separation of powers is further threatened by this struggle for power.
Pakistan is certainly in a disadvantageous position after the recent turn of events on a global level. Neocolonialist political partners from the outside entrap Pakistan. The structure of the state is weak from within because of military’s dominance over the affairs of the state. It is also Nawaz Sharif’s failure because he failed to seize the opportunity after the uplifting of Iran’s sanctions. The state’s establishment has failed miserably in bettering bilateral ties. Additionally, Iran was implicated by the ISPR for giving passageway to terrorists through its Sistan-Baluchistan province. Political heat is escalating while also putting a strain on Pakistan’s relation with USA with respect to terrorism.
Pakistan is being set up for regional containment by its bordering countries and this attempts to undermine the Gawadar port project, which is supported by CPEC. USA’s second covert operation was carried out on Pakistani soil. This shows that the Obama administration intends to leave a legacy for rooting out terrorism. USA’s overbearing influence on Pakistan is a threat to its national sovereignty, which has been abused by the consent of the state several times. All these statements have been reduced to the petty level of public rhetoric. Henceforth, Pakistan should establish itself as a sovereign nation otherwise it will always remain a frontline state and a battleground for proxy wars.