Men with a mission

The Gulf crisis that has erupted in the last fortnight has a long back story that is complex and much clouded. Pakistan has played minimal part thus far, and the departure of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz indicates this is about to change. This is a heavyweight team to send on a one-day mission to Saudi Arabia and it is difficult to divine exactly what it is that they hope to achieve in such a short time given that as far as is known none of those representing Pakistan have had a previous close engagement with any of the parties — Saudi Arabia excepted — beyond formal diplomatic niceties.

The visit is on the coathanger of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a body that has, to all intents and purposes, been rent asunder by the isolation of Qatar by a basket of GCC members. This is described as an ‘emergent situation’ in a statement from the PM house which is something of an understatement to say the least. Historical tensions between Qatar and other GCC members are now being exacerbated by the intervention of Iran, a long-time ally of Qatar which has delivered plane-loads of ‘relief supplies’ and has ships on the way to run the blockade of Qatari ports. A flashpoint for the near future.

Other complications include President Trump backing the Saudis in their leadership of the moves against Qatar, and the fact that Qatar controls the largest offshore gas field in the world with a global customer base that is less than delighted with recent developments. Pakistan is in a delicate position, enjoying close relations with both Iran and the KSA, and there are millions of Pakistani workers in Gulf countries that fill the coffers with their foreign-currency remittances every month. It is this minefield that the Pakistan team has to negotiate. In their favour is the lack of luggage that the team carries with them. We have no territorial disputes and generally amicable trade and military relationships with all concerned. Whether this is enough to play at a table with some very heavy hitters is an open — but we sense important — question.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 13^th, 2017.

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