US now has another option to transport the Nato supplies to Afghanistan and facilitate its drawdown from the region.
GAMBAT, KHAIRPUR: The US-Iran deal can turn out to be quite alarming for Pakistan and China. As far as Pakistan is concerned, the US now has another option to transport the Nato supplies to Afghanistan and facilitate its drawdown from the region. Iran can provide a safer passage to the US. This can also help it improve relations with the US further. If any such thing does materialise, Pakistan, being an already fractured economy, would receive another severe blow.
As far as China goes, it is obvious that the US does not want to see China rise in the world and for this purpose, it has since long tried to encircle China as is clear from its presence in various regions round that country. For this purpose, it is also trying to ensure its presence in Central Asia. Zbigniew Brzezinski once said, “The momentum of Asia’s economic development is already generating massive pressures for the exploration and exploitation of new sources of energy and the Central Asian region and the Caspian Sea basin are known to contain reserves of natural gas and oil that dwarf those of Kuwait, the Gulf of Mexico, or the North Sea.” Hence, the US would be now shifting, as is apparent from its rapprochement with a decades-old foe, its eyes from Middle Eastern countries to Central Asian countries. Simply put, this policy amounts to seizing Central Asia, which will ensure that the world resources are yours. To belittle China’s exploitation and to maintain its presence, sooner or later the US will go after these resource-rich countries.
That US and Iran, having remained antagonists for 24 years, now seem to be coming to terms with each other and have also strengthened the idea that there are no permanent friends or foes in international relations. Iran’s persistent opposition to the US and an adamant resolve on making itself strong from within by realising its potential are worth commending as this policy has now borne fruit. This is completely different from the situation in Pakistan, where the US regularly violates our territorial sovereignty. Iran has risen to a status where it has earned what it wants while remaining on an equal footing with the rest of the world. Countries like ours should learn from Iran and develop the capacity needed for having a respectable standing in the international community.
Zakaullah Mirbahar
Published in The Express Tribune, November 27th, 2013.
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