Implications of Iranian drone’s incursion in Pakistan

There are no friends in international relations

An Iranian drone (reportedly on a spying mission) was shot down by a Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder fighter jet in the country’s restive Balochistan province. According to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, the Iranian unmanned aircraft was destroyed on 19 June in Panjgur area. The debris of the drone was found in Parom area of Panjgur district.

Pakistan has already shared the information about striking down of this drone with the Iranian authorities indicating that the drone was struck down by our security forces as it was unmarked and there was no prior information on its flight.

This was the second Iranian drone to be shot down within twenty four hours. The US had downed an Iranian drone in Syria. The Iranian manufactured UAV was being operated by pro-regime forces in southern Syria early Tuesday.

The relationship between Pakistan and Iran has been tense in the near past. Iran’s army chief recently warned that Tehran would strike militant safe haven inside Pakistan ─ remarks that drew a strong protest from Islamabad ─ after 10 Iranian border guards were killed by militants allegedly from across the border earlier this year.

This is a far cry from the time Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan after it gained independence in 1947. Unfortunately, Pakistan has been made a theatre of Shia Sunni proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The recently formed 39 nations’ alliance by Saudi Arabia is clearly anti-Iran but Pakistan has refused to be dragged into taking sides. Tehran on the other hand, is unhappy with Islamabad because General Raheel Sharif, the former Chief of Staff of Pakistan Army has been appointed the head of the Arab coalition forces.

Miscreants are operating on both sides of the Iran-Pakistan border and engage in cross border terrorism leading to apprehensions on both sides.

The advent of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has led to misgivings by India as well as Iran. To dilute the importance of Pakistan’s deep sea port Gawadar, the starting point of CPEC, India has invested in the developing of Iran’s Chabahar Port. India has also constructed a highway from Afghanistan to the Chabahar Port so that Afghanistan and Central Asian States use the Chabahar Port instead of Gawadar.

In order to sabotage CPEC, India is busy fomenting trouble in Balochistan. It is fanning ethnic disturbances in Balochistan by recruiting local disgruntled youth in Balochistan and is urging them to rise and demand their freedom. The arrest of Indian Naval officer Commander Kulbhoshan Jadhav from Balochistan was a major victory of Pakistan intelligence agencies.

Commander Jadhav was operating from Iranian port of Chabahar and it is difficult to comprehend that Iranian intelligence was not aware of his nefarious activities.

Iran gets irritated whenever terror attacks emanate from Pakistan’s side of the border but remains oblivious of terror attacks on Pakistan originating from Iranian soil.

Terrorists are no body’s friends and if they are creating any problems at borders they should be dealt with through proper channels. Instead, Iran is indulging in espionage on Pakistan through its UAVs and threatening Pakistan with dire consequences.

The Muslim Ummah is already divided. The Gulf countries have drawn clear lines of demarcation with Qatar and Iran on one side while Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and others are on the other side of the divide.

With the deep fissures appearing in the Islamic Ummah, only the terrorist and the enemies of Islam will be rejoicing. We have managed to create division within ourselves and made the enemy stronger by our own follies and prejudices.

Islam is a rapidly enlarging faith and its growth is much to the chagrin of the west, which would like to put impediments in the development forces. By falling prey to our internal machinations and indulging in browbeating of each other, we are aiding and abetting the enemy.

The separatists in Balochistan, egged on by India, whose spy agency RAW has been recruiting, training and arming Baloch insurgents. Since the Baloch also reside in Iran, there are certain key elements of Iranian Baloch, who would like to jump on the bandwagon and strive for the creation of a greater Balochistan,

In the prevailing milieu, it would be pertinent for sanity to prevail. Donald Trump, who recently visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, may have acted as a catalyst in the Saudi led sanctions and embargo against fellow Gulf State Qatar but the Islamic world should take cognizance of the fact that Trump signed multi billion dollars deal with Saudi Arabia and in the next instance finalized a dollars twelve billion deal for the sale of the nearing obsolence F-15 Eagles fighter aircraft with Qatar. Trump must be laughing up his sleeve at the naiveté of the Gulf States.

With Libya, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan embroiled in conflict, the need of the hour is creating understanding and ethos in the Islamic world.

If Iran is joining India in taking on Pakistan, it is making a huge mistake. Pakistan is not an easy prey. It has the capacity to retaliate very strongly but that would be detrimental to peace in the region.

A week after Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Pakistan and appeared to have helped re-establish diplomatic and security cooperation between the two countries over border management, the top Iranian military commander threatened to launch cross-border attacks inside Pakistan against so-called militant safe havens. Major General Mohammad Baqeri’s extraordinary comments have elicited a sharp reaction from Islamabad and yesterday’s summoning to the Foreign Office of Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost may be the start of a fresh series of accusations and recriminations between the two countries. It is not yet clear if the proposals agreed upon during Mr. Zarif’s visit have been implemented — both sides had agreed to ramp up border cooperation while Pakistan has pledged to send more troops to the boundary to help fight cross-border smuggling, crime and militancy. What is clear is that Major General Baqeri’s comments are utterly unacceptable. Simultaneously, the incursion of Iranian surveillance drones within Pakistan must cease forthwith.

For Pakistan, the path forward must be to lay emphasis on two aspects of the bilateral relationship.

First, Pakistan has an inherent interest in a stable and peaceful relationship with Iran and a violence-free border. Over the years, both sides have built up a number of complaints, mostly as a result of the border between the two countries being a vast, poorly governed space with local populations often at odds with their respective states and other countries having an obvious interest in interfering on both sides of the frontier. However, despite the occasional incident, the Pak-Iran relationship has never been as troubled as Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan and India or the Line of Control in Kashmir. Surely, then, both Pakistan and Iran can find ways to cooperate over border management and curb incidents of violence.

Second, Pakistan and Iran need to have sustained diplomatic engagement to address the range of issues that could be causing friction. From the Kulbhoshan Jadhav incident to Pakistan’s participation in the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance to helping stabilize an increasingly precarious Afghan state, there is much that needs to be addressed by both sides. Moreover, long-term projects, such as the Pak-Iran pipeline or electricity transfers, offer the opportunity to bring economic stability to a tense security relationship.

Indeed, if truly creative solutions are wanted, the ports in Chabahar and Gawadar could greatly complement one another. Surely, whatever the path chosen, it must lead to stable, productive ties.