- Tariq Fatemi says Pakistan must not be held responsible for failure of other countries
Speakers and experts at a seminar titled “Is Pakistan Isolated: Regional Challenges and Opportunities” on Tuesday called for the revival of Afghan peace talks, observing that a stable Afghanistan was entirely in Pakistan’s interest.
Prime Minister’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi was the keynote speaker at the moot arranged by the Institute for Policy Reforms (IPR). Other speakers included IPR Chairman Humayun Akhtar Khan, regional expert, Anatol Lieven and senior analyst Zahid Hussain.
Giving a comprehensive overview of Pakistan’s regional interests and policies, PM’s Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi said Pakistan must not be held responsible for the failure of other countries, adding that it wished to have cordial relations with all countries. Fatemi discussed the background of the recent tension with Afghanistan. He said Pakistan made every effort to maintain best of the relations with Afghanistan. “Pakistan has provided support to Afghanistan and will continue to do so. A stable Afghanistan was entirely in Pakistan’s interest,” he added.
In his introductory comments, IPR chief Humayun Akhtar Khan said Pakistan needed a stable and consistent foreign policy to promote and protect its interests in the region. He said Pakistan had invested several decades of institutional and financial resources in its relations with Afghanistan. “These relations are important not just bilaterally, but also to connect with the Central Asia,” he added. Khan said a major advantage from the CPEC came from regional connectivity that linked Pakistan with Central Asia’s major energy resources. “Today an important question is not merely about peace in Afghanistan, but peace with Afghanistan.” He also recommended Pakistan strengthened cooperation with Iran and minimised differences, if any, with the United States.
Eminent historian Anatol Lieven said that breakdown of Afghan peace talks had increased US animus. “No country wants Pakistan to cross the line between sheltering the Afghan Taliban and arming them. Pakistan will forfeit all goodwill if this were ever to happen. So, it is desirable to revive the peace talks,” he averred. Lieven hoped that all countries would work to resolve these issues and resume the talks.
Senior journalist Zahid Hussain said that Pakistan’s foreign policy was driven entirely by national security. He said that “our security interest remains India-centric when Pakistan has many more interests in the region. Pakistan was focused on its geo-strategic position in an age when countries build on their geo-economic situation.” He said that “our insecurity has led to a narrow definition of national security. It does not consider economic, food, or water security. These considerations have defined our foreign policy.” Hussain said that “even our relations with the US are shaped by this paradigm as have all other relationships.” He said China and India had used geo-economics for their benefit, but Pakistan completely ignored this aspect. “Our economy is weak. One sign of which is the modest GDP growth rates of three to four percent of recent years. Without a sound economy, Pakistan cannot hope to build an effective foreign policy,” he concluded.
