Is this real life or a fantasy?
Pakistan exports terror and Pakistan needs to be confronted about the futility of its policies that it has refused to change till now,” said Bangladesh visiting Minister of Information Hasanul Haque Inu, showing that what ‘once used to be’ Pakistan’s east wing is still furious of the country’s policies and is gearing up against Pakistan.
Pakistan – which claims to be a ‘democratic’ country – has always been behind in giving a clear stance on its foreign policy. Internal affairs aside, the country has many challenges on the foreign front that it failed to address which can be easily termed as its ‘failure of foreign policy’. The gravity of the situation can be assessed from the fact that Pakistan is running its so-called democracy without a full-time foreign minister, and that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is holding the portfolio of a foreign minister himself, while Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif is often seen going on high-level visits abroad, raising a question that along with other important matters of state, is foreign policy also run by the military?
Love-hate relationship with US
Pakistan always had a love-hate relationship with the United States as it allied with the US as a frontline state in its war on terror after 9/11. But be it the purchase of F-16 fighter jets, the resistance in providing Coalition Support Fund (CSF), US drone strike in Pakistani territory killing Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour or efforts to become a member of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the relations of both the countries have seen a rift recently. Pakistan is such a democratic and ‘sovereign’ state that it could not even condemn the violation of its territorial integrity.
The US congressmen in a recent meeting titled ‘Pakistan: Friend or Foe in the Fight against Terrorism?’ slammed Pakistan, calling it a ‘state sponsor of terror’ and demanded to impose economic sanctions on Pakistan if it did not eliminate the alleged terrorist safe havens from its territory. At this, our Adviser to the PM on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz only replied by calling it “baseless concerns of a section of US lawmakers,” showing a lack of reasoning and logic.
Complexities with Iran and Afghanistan
The historic ties with fellow Islamic countries – Iran and Afghanistan – keep witnessing ups and downs with border management issues and a failure to hold peace talks with Afghanistan, and the delay in constructing gas pipeline with Iran and asking it to investigate and share the details of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. Now that Iran, Afghanistan and India are coming closer by signing a joint accord to develop Chabahar Port, it shows that Pakistan has been sidelined by three of its neighbours.
The enemy country
Despite Narendra Modi’s surprise visit to Pakistan last year, relations with India have again heated up following the Pathankot airbase attack earlier this year. Pakistan has always failed to show its grievances on international forum against its all-time enemy – India. Modi’s speech on Indian Independence Day, slamming those who ‘glorify’ terrorism and claiming that the people of Balochistan had thanked him for his support on the ‘so-called insurgency’ in the province, along with the recent clashes in Kashmir have aggravated tensions with India. Bangladesh has also come out to support India and both the countries have agreed on a ‘MoU on data exchange’, which will ensure pre-emptive intervention in Pakistan targeting terrorists.
“Pakistan exports terror and Pakistan needs to be confronted about the futility of its policies that it has refused to change till now,” said Bangladesh’s visiting Minister of Information Hasanul Haque Inu, showing that what ‘once used to be’ Pakistan’s east wing is still furious of the country’s policies and is gearing up against Pakistan.
The only friend
Out of all the neighbours, Pakistan’s only friend is China and with China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), relations with China have strengthened although we did not learn much from how China has become an economic superpower over the years.
DNA talked to former foreign minister of Pakistan Khurshid Ahmed Kasuri to discuss the foreign policy issues in Pakistan.
We have no foreign policy at all as we have no foreign minister while Special Assistant Fatemi reduces Sartaj Aziz’s authority, says Khurshid Kasuri
Kasuri was of the view that foreign policy is directly related to good governance and internal policy. He said, “The secret of success of foreign policy lies in good governance and internal policy.”
He said that a good foreign policy does not depend on a democratic or authoritarian government; it depends on economic growth, law and order situation and stability during any government. Giving the example of former prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Kasuri said that he was politically controversial but his foreign policy was successful. Similarly, he said, during military dictator General Ayub Khan’s era, there was internal stability within the country and so we had a better foreign policy. During General Musharraf’s regime when Kasuri was the serving foreign minister, he said, a national security council was formed and foreign policy was formed by taking inputs from civilian and military representatives.
About the present situation when ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is fighting for its own life, Kasuri said that we have no foreign policy at all as we have no foreign minister. Adviser to the PM Sartaj Aziz, he said, is although able to run the matters of foreign affairs, is not being allowed to work effectively as Special Assistant to the PM on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, who should be in the PM House, reduces his authority.
Pakistan’s media has created an artificial bubble that does not allow Pakistanis to realise our low international standing. We applaud when our prime minister talks about Kashmir at the United Nations but do not discuss why no other country speaks about the issue, says Hussain Haqqani
Former Ambassador of Pakistan to the US Husain Haqqani, while talking to DNA, said that Pakistan’s power structure, with the dominance of the military and its worldview, leaves little room for civilians, significantly altering foreign policy. In most countries, he said, the elected leaders can make fundamental changes, like American President Nixon reaching out to China but in Pakistan’s case, the national interest is pre-defined and the civilian leaders cannot afford to make fundamental changes in defining what really is best for the country. ‘Handling’ foreign policy within that constraint limits, civilian leaders’ ability and ‘performance’ is similarly constrained, Haqqani said.
About the lack of a foreign minister, the former ambassador said that a full-time foreign minister would be useful, but our international problems will not go away with his appointment. “The prime minister’s real job should not be to conduct foreign policy but to make major decisions about the country’s direction. The more portfolios he keeps to himself, the less time he has for big thinking,” he added.
“Pakistan’s media has created an artificial bubble that does not allow Pakistanis to realise our low international standing. We applaud when our prime minister talks about Kashmir at the United Nations but do not discuss why no other country speaks about the issue”, Haqqani said about the perception that Pakistan is internationally isolated, adding, “We are isolated, without much support on what we describe as our core issue, and are perceived as a terrorist incubator but we prefer to live in denial.”
Haqqani said that Pakistan needs to recognise that the advantages we had of being the West’s ally during the cold war, when India was non-aligned, are over. “We need to be realistic in how much, and in what ways, we can compete with India. We need to fend for our security but we should not make India thebe all end all of our existence. We need to prioritise better, have fewer feuds with other nations, end terrorism and our association with it, and build our economy and society to make ourselves attractive to friends and allies,” he said, and added that this is not a hard thing to do but it requires realism and analysis that goes beyond patting ourselves on our back and adopting ideological rhetoric as a substitute for policy.
It has been more than three years since the current PML-N government is in position, but the post of a foreign minister is still missing in prime minister’s cabinet which shows how much the present democratic government is concerned about matters relating to foreign affairs. The opposition and members of the Parliament have time and again called for a full-time foreign minister but to no good.
“I don’t understand why a full-time foreign minister cannot be appointed; why either Fatemi or Aziz are not given the ministry or why the position cannot be filled from within the federal cabinet,” said Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman after the monotonous government’s response on US drone strike, adding that she could not understand the logic behind keeping one of the key ministries without a minister. Recently, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto also called PML-N incapable of running a foreign policy which can give priority to Kashmir issue.
Similarly, Dr Shireen Mazari of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said, “I don’t know why we don’t have a foreign minister when the country is facing so many critical issues. This is absolutely shocking.”
With strangled relations with three neighbouring countries and the US, it would not be wrong to say that Pakistan is internationally isolated and there is a dire need to appoint a full-time foreign minister who can defend Pakistan internationally. With that the country can make its way towards development through diplomacy and lobbying which Pakistan has, unfortunately, always given least attention to and as Haqqani said: “We prefer to live in denial,” the special adviser in his defence is always found as saying: “The current foreign policy is relevant to the needs at the time.” The mess of a fractured foreign policy needs to be sorted out soon; before we are left with only enemies around our border and only China to bail us out.
