…or something like it
If you’re charitable you’d say the president did his thing with aplomb. If you’re not, you’d have to concede there weren’t any gaffes. To call his visit to Iran and Saudi Arabia a tightrope walk wouldn’t come close to describing it on account of the several layers involved. There’s risking US ire by indulging in forays in the region. And then there is navigating the intricate pathways of Saudi-Iranian tensions themselves.
Though we don’t have own house in order – specially when it comes to burying the hatchet with a regional nemesis – were Pakistan to play peacemaker between the two nations, there would not only be lesser tension in the Muslim world, there would also be a lot less sectarian violence in Pakistan itself. Secular nationalists in Pakistan have long since resented the rivalry between the two counties being played out on our turf. But Pakistan is not the only country where the rivalry is being played out. There is also Bahrain, that problem of a state with Shia dissidents and a Sunni monarch.
Then there’s the money. In the face of the murky international situation as far as aid is concerned (see editorial above) there are avenues to be explored here.
And it’s not just monetised aid. The two oil-rich nations can also help us out in what is one of the worst power crises in our history, given the centrality of thermal energy in our power profile.
Moving on, it would be good for the government to realise the necessity of a diversified support network in the comity of nations. Our tempestuous relations with the US have often put much else on hold. While there is no sense in needlessly peeving off the Americans, it would do us good to venture into the brave new world of newer, stronger relationships with other countries.
