- Pakistan must maintain neutrality in explosive Saudi-Iran geopolitics
The PM and COAS were seemingly summoned to visit Riyadh through personalised diplomacy (so well-beloved of our disqualified PM) rather than cordially invited through formal Foreign Office channels and the surprise call has been well answered as they leave for Saudi Arabia today. The Saudi move is shrouded in mystery, as apart from the ISI chief, even the composition of the official delegation is still unknown, especially inclusion of the grudgingly appointed foreign minister, nor is there any clue of the agenda and weighty matters to be pondered. Left out of the loop, the Foreign Secretary muttered diplomatic jargonese that the visit would ‘help in improving further the existing close ties between the two brotherly countries’. This is a simplistic assessment, considering that the hyperactive Saudi heir is up in arms against regional rival Iran, Qatar, Lebanon, Yemen (literally) and Hezbollah, apart from unsettling his own society under the pleasant guise of a corruption purge.
The COAS’s recent three-day Iran visit was a welcome affair, its visible affability if actually translated into practice could well secure an increasingly troublesome border, despite apprehensions about Iran’s ties with India, its ambiguous policies regarding Taliban as well as its posturing in the Gulf region. Iran too is not over-pleased at what it regards as Islamabad’s unthinking bowing before American regional policies and its intimate involvement in the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance. It simply will not do for Pakistan to be sucked into the Middle East regional and sectarian quagmire, as the ‘raging bull’ Crown Prince has shown in Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri’ shocking resignation that he is quite willing to raise the stakes and take the regional ‘Great Game’ to a new fraught level.
It is this buzzing hornet’s nest, which even angels would diligently avoid at this juncture, which is the destination of the top Pakistani civilian and military duo, and the interaction demands ice-cold reflection, geo-strategic vision and nimble footwork indeed to evenly balance the tricky Saudi-Iran equation in Pakistan’s long-term national interests. Strict and fair neutrality is the key.
