PTI government needs to display statesmanship
Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has a simplistic approach to relations with the USA. He told those gathered at the Multan Tea Club that Pakistan’s ties with the USA are going to take a new turn on account of the PTI government’s successful foreign policy. He bases his expectations on the help extended to make US-Taliban talks possible. There is no doubt that Pakistan played a crucial role in bringing the Afghan militants to the negotiation table. Finance Minister Asad Umar’s hopes may not be altogether misplaced when he says that Pakistan is likely to be cleared from the FATF grey list. Washington’s relations with Islamabad being purely transactional, the USA is likely to help at FATF while considering it a sufficient reward for the cooperation being provided. It would however be unrealistic to hope that henceforth mutual relations would be upgraded to a higher level.
Will the USA still have a pressing need for cooperation from Pakistan once the bulk of its troops have left Afghanistan? Will it not turn its back on Pakistan as it has repeatedly done in the past after achieving its goals? Will the Trump Administration change its strategy for South Asia which gives centrality to New Delhi?
The PTI government, we are told, is pursuing a policy of maintaining good relations with all the Gulf countries. It is trying to have mutually beneficial ties with Saudi Arabia and the UAE on one side, and Qatar and Iran on the other. On the face of it, Pakistan could play the role of an arbitrator in Gulf disputes on account of its size, its military potential, and its deployment of troops in the Saudi kingdom for the training of Saudi forces and the security of its royalty. Acts of commission and omission however continue to impair Islamabad’s image of neutrality. Instead of playing a role in stopping the terrible bloodshed in Yemen, the government is seen to be discreetly supporting one of the sides. Pakistan continues to be told that action would be taken against the terrorists who killed 27 Revolutionary Guards without anything concrete having been done so far. The delay is leading to a perception in the neighbouring country that Islamabad is acting like a partisan.
