An emerging pragmatism

Despite the fact that Pakistan still lacks a foreign minister and there being no indication of such an appointment on the horizon before the next election; there are indications that a timely maturity is developing on the foreign relations front. In geopolitical terms the country sits at a nexus, and how relations with India, Afghanistan, China and Iran are managed has a profound and far-reaching effect on regional and sub-continental stability and security.

Also in the mix is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with which there is no contiguous border but a relationship of surpassing closeness. It is Saudi Arabia that has literally bailed out a faltering Pakistan on more than one occasion in the last decade; and beyond the financial there are ties that run deep between the two countries.

Now it is being reliably reported that Pakistan has decided to draw ‘red lines’ in respect of the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance Against Terrorism. This is a move designed to head off any potential negative effects participation in the alliance may have with our relations with Iran, which is a key partner especially in the energy sector. Some ambiguity has emerged about the status of Pakistan within the 41 nation counter-terrorism alliance — which does not include Iran, an ambiguity rooted in the recent Arab Islamic-US summit in Riyadh where KSA authorities made it clear that the alliance was as much to counter Iran as it was to address the wider issue of terrorism. We assume the same ambiguity is associated with the appointment of General (retd) Raheel Sharif as Commander in Chief of the alliance as of 17 January 2017.

Pakistan needs to step away very smartly from any alliance that has a sectarian thread at its core. The terms of reference of the alliance are yet to be formalised and will be defined by a meeting of the defence ministers of all the participating countries in coming weeks. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has made it plain in the National Assembly that Pakistan would withdraw from the alliance if it was in any way sectarian. We support the government position in this matter. Red lines were needed, and the government is wise to act as it has.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2017.

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