Foreign policy

ISLAMABAD: Four weeks ago, President Trump said that he would love to meet Iran’s president but then he takes a big U-turn by saying that Iran was involved in the Saudi oil attacks. The foreign policy of the United States has a question mark regarding Iran. President Trump changes his statement quite often. On the other hand, Rouhani said that talks with the US were possible only if the sanctions were lifted. Pakistan is asked by the US to play the role of a mediator between the US, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Our relations with Iran have been in a situation of disarray for a long time. The reason behind this is that our priority has always been the Saudi because of oil and funds. We need to improve our relations with Iran at any cost. PM Imran Khan is the only hope in this case. Previous governments did not take that seriously. We must learn one thing that in international community our friends and enemies change with the passage of time but our neighbours remain constant. PM Imran Khan has decided to visit Iran before leaving for Saudi Arabia. This looks like a positive step. Trade with Iran is very important for an economic boost. Iran also wants to become a part of CPEC. There is a question mark on our foreign policy regarding Iran. We need to strengthen our relations with them. One positive sign is that Pakistan has won the trust of China. China has a great role to play in regional and world peace. It can use its influence to reduce tensions in the Middle East and specially to support efforts to remove misunderstandings between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Pakistan is always affected whenever the situation is tensed between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The question is, are we in a situation of becoming a mediator? Will Iran trust us? The makers of foreign policy need to answer it.

Omar Shahkar

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2019.

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