The “hype about 2011 being the year of Sino-Pakistan friendship” has more noise but less substance.
RESTON, VA, US: This is with reference to Tanvir Ahmed Khan’s article of July 4 titled “Crafting policy in a changing perspective”. The writer is correct about the “hype about 2011 being the year of Sino-Pakistan friendship” since it seems there is more noise but less substance on this. Ties with Iran are lukewarm at best. This is partly the result of Islamabad’s complicated relationship with the US as well as it being a hostage to Saudi interests. The “tall claims of a common religion and civilisation” with the Middle East and North Africa are a farce. The civilisations could not be more different, and insofar as religion is concerned, Islam is at war with itself.
Pakistan’s policy towards India has to a large extent been dictated by its “military cabal”; in terms of pure “economics” the size of the army could easily be reduced by over 50 per cent if there was peace with India. This, of course, threatens the perks and commercial interests of the military. Kargil was more than a “folly” on the part of Musharraf; it was sheer stupidity. Pakistan now has no choice but to go the extra mile to mitigate its global perception of being a state that sponsors terrorism. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may not be a hero in his country but, down the road, India will remember and applaud his role as someone who helped his country become an important player on the global stage.
As far as Pakistan’s Foreign Office is concerned, the less said the better. It will take more than a generational change for it to become a professional institution and not be a mouthpiece for the military’s narrow interests.
Noor Nabi
Published in The Express Tribune, July 5th, 2011.
