Knight to E-4
Pakistan ‘s relations with China are getting further strengthened. It is in the mutual interest of both to safeguard the multi-billion dollar CEPEC and its sea lanes. Pakistan has already raised a new Army Division to ensure the security of Gawadar port and the CPEC route China has handed over two ships equipped with state of the art guns to Pakistan navy. Two more will be provided by it in days to come. The addition of these ships would bolster Pakistan navy’s strength and discourage illicit traffic by sea. What is more it would discourage anyone from posing a naval threat to Pakistan The symbolism of the important move on the regional chessboard would not be hopefully missed by such elements.
President-elect Trump’s team appears to be developing a more realistic assessment of the South Asia region. This is what one gathers from the confirmation testimony by Defence Secretary designate Gen (rtd) Mattis who recognised that the US and Pakistan had areas of shared strategic interest. Mattis also underlined the US concerns regarding terrorist networks allegedly operating from Pakistan’s tribal areas. While Pakistan’s ambassador to the US is upbeat about the future relations between the countries, even hoping that the Trump administration would lift the conditions on the sale of F-16s to Pakistan, it would be more realistic to describe the doctrine as a new mix of the old carrot and stick policy.
Pakistan already has close relations with China and is seeking to enhance its ties with Russia. It is equally important to improve relations with the US which touched the nadir during the fag end of the Obama administration. The PMLN government has to realize that none of the three powers has tolerance for either terrorism or extremism in the region. The government must not allow people with a soft corner for terrorists or extremists in the echelons of power. It needs to nullify the perception that Ch Nisar’s views on the issue of extremists have the implicit support of the government.