Putting it back on track
The PML-N government has not won too many points, for some time now, on the foreign policy front. Things with India, Afghanistan and America have worsened and the foreign ministry, at times, has been an international embarrassment; strutting along directionless, without a dedicated minister, all this time. Yet, for the past few weeks, there has been a visible effort to mend ties with Iran, which is appreciated. The equation with Tehran, too, took a dip not too long ago, which makes this fresh initiative that much more significant.
The effort began to show late last month, when the national security advisor visited Iran for three days. Besides enhancing ties and improving border security, the two sides talked at length about the regional threat posed by IS. Then a few days ago the foreign secretary went to Iran. Once again, on top of politics and commerce, they talked about IS and terrorism. Now, the Iranian deputy foreign minister, Dr Seyed Mohammad Kazem Sajjadpour, has come to Pakistan to express similar sentiments. This means that the first step of the ‘reset’ – removing mistrust and restoring ties – has been successfully completed. Now both sides should build on the momentum and initiate joint business ventures – and complete half-done ones like IP pipeline – and build on a joint anti-terror policy.
Islamabad has done the right thing by reaching out to Tehran just as it is coming out of international isolation. Its value can be assessed by the beeline European companies and investment banks are making to its newly ‘available’ economy. Even Washington, which in the Bush Administration included Iran in the ‘Axis of Evil’, has decided to bury the hatchet and start over, no matter how much it upsets the Saudis and Israelis. Pakistan and Iran must now waste no time in building upon this new foundation.
