China – a friend in need is a friend indeed

ISLAMABAD:

Few years ago, I was attending a talk being delivered by a visiting US official at the Islamabad Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS). Relationship between Pakistan and the US were at the time lowest given the frequent hiccups from Raymond Davis episode to Bin Laden’s killing to Salala attack in which 24 Pakistani soldiers were killed by the US air strikes at Afghan border.

Against this backdrop, the visiting US official naturally started the talk by pointing towards oft repeated US accusations against Pakistan for playing a ‘double game’ in the war against terror. While he made these accusations, there was no mention of Pakistan’s role that it played not just after the 9/11 attacks but even during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 for the United States.

As a consequence of that support, Pakistan endured both human and financial costs. Yet, the visiting US official kept reminding the audience the financial and other support his country extended to Pakistan over the years. The question and answer session was heated as many among the audience asked tough questions and presented a counter narrative.

I was sitting next to Tanvir Ahmed Khan, the former Pakistani foreign secretary and veteran diplomat. After the talk, Khan told me “do you know the difference between the US and China.” Then he went on to say China had always supported Pakistan and done more than any other country.

“But Chinese officials would always start by acknowledging the support Pakistan extended to Beijing. They (Chinese officials) will always tell you how Pakistan helped China end its international isolation. They will mention how Pakistan was one of the first countries to recognise the communist state. They will tell you that Pakistan International Airlines was the first foreign airline from a non-communist country to start flight operation from Beijing,” he remarked, while adding that Chinese officials would never mention what their country had done for Pakistan.

And these stories they have passed on to generations. “This is the difference between China and the US. The Chinese are always thankful but the US will always say do more” the veteran diplomat pointed out.

The acknowledgement of Pakistan’s role was not restricted to Chinese officials but also the common people. In 2018, I visited China and naturally wherever I went I usually asked one question from common Chinese that what they knew about Pakistan. To my utter surprise, many Chinese including younger ones were aware of few historic events such as Pakistan’s role in helping China coming out of international isolation. To China’s credit, it always remembered Pakistan’s help in its difficult time.

With China now emerging as a global power, it has not forgotten Pakistan. It is an open secret that China has helped Pakistan in all spheres including political, economic, military, defence and many other fields. Few would remember that China might not have intervened during the 1965 Pakistan-India war, it was Beijing’s ultimatum to New Delhi that helped end the Indian aggression. Immediately after the war, China provided $60 million to Pakistan to recover some of the losses it suffered during the war.

After 9/11 attacks, Pakistan joined the US ‘so-called’ war on terror. The then Musharraf regime had extended all possible support to the US and its allies to dislodge the Taliban government in Kabul. The military government in Pakistan arrested several hardcore al-Qaeda terrorists and many of them were handed over to the US authorities. Pakistan paid both human and financial cost of its decision to join the US war on terror. But within few years of joining the coalition, Washington began to question Pakistan’s sincerity. The allegations of ‘double game’ by the US officials against Pakistan became a norm. The ‘do more’ mantra was on top of agenda of any US official’s visit or when Pakistani officials visiting Washington.

At one point particularly after al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed in a secret US raid at Abottabad, Pakistan was facing a virtual international isolation. But the one country that stood with Pakistan was China. Beijing time and again reminded the world about the sacrifices rendered by Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. China instead urged the west particularly the US to not blame or make Pakistan a scapegoat for its own failures. 

More recently, China’s help was instrumental in preempting and thwarting attempts by India seeking Pakistan’s isolation. Whether it was at the United Nations Security or any other forum, Beijing always stood with Pakistan. The latest example is China’s support to Pakistan in the wake of India revoking the special status of disputed Kashmir region. The government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on August 5, 2019 abrogated Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution that gave special status to the longstanding dispute between Pakistan and India. China was one of the first countries which publicly rejected the Indian move and warned that such unilateral actions would further compound the Kashmir problem.

In fact many observers believe that the current military standoff between China and India was linked with Modi government’s August 2019 controversial Kashmir move. It was because of China’s efforts that Kashmir issue was discussed, though informally, at the UN Security Council for the first time after a gap of 50 years. The issue had been brought up for discussions thrice in a year thanks to China.

China’s support to Pakistan was not merely restricted to statements. Not long ago Pakistan had returned $1 billion loan to Saudi Arabia ahead of its time. China quickly jumped in and provided $1 billion to ensure that the country’s foreign reserves remained stable.

China has been consistently supporting Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), which put the country on ‘grey list’ in June 2018 for not taking adequate measures to curb terror financing and money laundering. China is currently the President of Paris based FATF. China has helped Pakistan thwart attempts by its enemies including India to use FATF for political purposes. Another such example was China’s consistent support to Pakistan when India tried to use the UN Security Council’s sanctions committee for political purposes. Hence, China blocked several Indian attempts to achieve its objective. Beijing maintained that such forums must not be used for political point scoring.

The term ‘iron brothers’ used to describe Pakistan-China’s strategic relationship are not merely rhetoric. Both countries have time and again proved that their relationship indeed is ‘deeper than the deepest ocean and sweeter than sweetest honey.’ It is not an overstatement by any means that Pakistan’s future is linked with China as the world has been witnessing new alliance and alignments with the rise of Beijing as economic power.

The writer is a staff correspondent