A moment of several truths

There is a sense of inevitability about the position Pakistan finds itself in vis-à-vis Qatar and the actions of Saudi Arabia. It will be recalled that Saudi Arabia led a group of states in severing ties with Qatar, a move triggered by Riyadh and its associate states on the grounds that Doha was a state sponsor of terrorism. Qatar has long been seen as something of a maverick by the Saudis, not least because it is willing, and able via the considerable presence of the Al Jazeera TV station, to challenge and be critical of the regional hegemony of Riyadh. The House of Saud has never taken well to criticism be it direct or indirect and Qatar had moved beyond being merely an irritant.

Hitherto Pakistan had stepped with considered caution, and rightly so, and avoided taking sides in the escalating set of conflicts that Riyadh is party to, particularly in Yemen where the Saudis and Iranians are fighting a proxy war. Riyadh moved to bring together a group of Muslim states to constitute a regional counter-terrorism initiative, and Islamabad was drawn into this sketchily-conceived entity by the appointment of the Pakistani retired Chief of Army Staff (COAS) as leader of the coalition — with hindsight perhaps not the wisest of moves and one that may bear reconsideration.

The visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif accompanied by the current Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, became the point at which Saudi Arabia decided to turn the screw and the Pakistan delegation was directly asked if it was with Riyadh or Doha? Diplomatic conundrums do not come much trickier. Pakistan’s response was that it was not taking sides — not easy when sitting in a chair opposite the most powerful men in the Gulf. There is now to be a mission to Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey in an effort to wave the olive branch but what leverage Pakistan has in the region is unclear — and probably little anyway. If Pakistan did not want to take sides, it would have been better to stay at home rather than visit Saudi Arabia, and conduct business through formal diplomatic channels. Instead foreign policy is being made up on the back of an envelope. Think again.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2017.

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