Islamabad’s vision for Regional Architecture
Islamabad hosted Iran and the USA, two parties in a direct war with each other. Pakistan managed to broker a fragile ceasefire between them. One party, a proclaimed superpower, finds itself stuck in a quagmire with a middle power that is on a winning trajectory. As the superpower looks for an offramp, the middle power seeks a permanent end to the cycle of hostility. Pakistan managed to bring them together, with a 10-point Iranian agenda and a 15-point American agenda.
To my understanding, Pakistan, in consultation with its friends and allies in the region, is wishing to create a blueprint for the security and economic architecture of the region, where all stakeholders will construct a new mechanism for their own security and integration, including Iran. This is a desire for circumstances where there is no intimidation, no reservations, and no apprehension of economic sabotage for anybody, and that all can be brought together through peace and economic growth. I am not saying that such a wish list was on the discussion table in Islamabad; what I am sensing is that this is what the region is looking for.
Amidst a fragile ceasefire, a choked most important strait, and a vision for the future architecture of the region, Pakistan received two adversaries in Islamabad. In broad daylight, in casual dressing, the USA was received with diplomatic smiles, and in the dark of the night, a fatigued, sombre welcome was extended to Iran, which, I imagine, could not have escaped condolences in reference to the Minab school massacre.
The question of how Pakistan is posturing itself is, rather, how Pakistan is managing to posture itself — a research question for scholars.
With a broad brushstroke understanding, Pakistan is trying to set a new norm of multi-nodal diplomacy, where a country can manage transactional relations with a powerful yet agreement-incapable country, as well as bank on civilisational, deep people-to-people connections with a neighbour. Through centuries-old trade routes, not only were commodities transported along the old Silk Road and other caravan routes, but also ideas, philosophies, cultures, and art. These exchanges influenced each other to the extent that the national poet of Pakistan is known as Iqbal Lahori in Iran.
Pakistan has shown the world that, while situations may seem to pull everybody into conflict from different sides, the art of diplomacy lies in restraining from that and offering a solution that is unique and bold. There is no doubt that it was a huge moment for Pakistanis to be in the limelight for peace because, so far, Pakistan’s name had appeared on the red carpet of fame hyphenated with war and terrorism. Thus, a certain spark of euphoria is understandable, even though Pakistani media discussed the event with full maturity, avoiding insurmountable claims.
My entire day, spent on multiple TV channels, was consumed with hope and longing for an Islamabad Declaration. In discussing my understanding, I realised that even media pundits were using “agreement” and “declaration” synonymously. However, I was hoping for a Joint Declaration of Islamabad — a statement of intent by both parties, offering one or two goodwill gestures to each other and agreeing to continue talks within my imagined long-term strategic framework for the entire region. I thought that the USA would not go back without an open Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran would fixate on including Lebanon in the ceasefire. Two or three other points might include partially softening sanctions on Iran by giving a nod to the region to trade with it, and Iran confirming the suspension of resistance, for the time being, by the axis of resistance. I was not hoping for too much, nor asking for something extravagant such as a hundred-year treaty of peace. And that, I must admit, was partly because I wanted an Islamabad Declaration.
The living generations in Pakistan can be divided into three broad categories, if we take the liberty of using a socio-politico-philosophical lens. One generation older than me witnessed Zia’s martial law and Bhutto’s assassination and is nostalgic about the revolutionary ideas of its time — Western liberalism, USSR socialism, even communism. Then comes my generation, which formed its collective memory in the aftermath of Zia’s martial law — a unique breed, sceptical about everything, with no direct connection to nostalgic political ideologies of the past, questioning everything from the idea of nation-states to their own existence. Our thought processes are confused by NGO agendas and coloured by Hollywood, ever trying to figure out Pakistan’s positioning and posturing, patriotic at the core, yet constantly redefining the dimensions of every existing norm. Then comes the generation born in the chaos of an evolving, decaying global order — comparing Pakistan with developed countries, being sold the hoax of “New Pakistan”, stuck in a maze of lies and illusions of populism, and holding conditional hopes for the future.
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So, an Islamabad Declaration in the history books was a wish I made to a genie, but even the supernatural elements in my time are politicised and refused to grant my wish. Putting my wish list aside, what Pakistanis can live with after this is the boost in diplomatic stature, the demonstration of capability, capacity, and political will in safeguarding the Iranian delegation. The free loitering of their air force in the Persian Gulf and surrounding areas ensured the safety of the Iranians. A smart media venue, with amazing food, big TV screens, and workstations, where media was purposefully kept away from the delegation, because negotiations can be disrupted by untimely titles and slants.
So there is a lot to cherish and linger on for all three generations of Pakistan, each with a different mindset, idea of Pakistan, and even contradictions in how to achieve it. We have all tasted something we had not experienced in generations, and its craving will stay with us. Negotiations can be facilitated but not enforced, yet we have experienced that we can pull off an event of this magnitude — with humility, honesty, and bravery.
The writer is a Doctor of Philosophy in Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication from Charles University Prague. She can be reached at shaziaanwer@yahoo.com