Is the PM right on India foreign policy?

Prime Minister Imran Khan, in one of his recent public rallies, praised the foreign policy of India, saying that it centres on its people. “India is part of QUAD (an alliance of the US, India, Australia and Japan meant to counter the rise of China) but is also buying oil from Russia despite sanctions,” said the PM.

The PM’s statement praising India’s “independent foreign policy” drew strong reaction from his political rivals and critics. Leading the charge, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif termed Imran’s remarks bizarre. He said “India, particularly under Modi, had accused Pakistan of terrorism, opposed CPEC and hurt our interests globally. It has robbed Kashmiris of their statehood.”

Notwithstanding how Indian foreign policy undermined Pakistan’s interests, the PM’s assessment on the Indian foreign policy was on the dot. Naturally, looking from Pakistan’s perspective we may not like certain policies pursued by India but a more realistic view will certainly help us give a better perspective.

India of course has an advantage of being one of the major economies of the world. It has close to 1.5 billion people offering huge incentives to foreign investors. But tapping that economic potential certainly needs statecraft. India has successfully maintained a balance in its relationship with all major powers. India has a strategic partnership with Russia spanning many decades but at the same time it is now increasingly getting close to the United States. Washington has in recent years signed several agreements with New Delhi, raising its status on a par with NATO allies. Yet, on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India took an independent view and did not side with the West. India also has longstanding close ties with Iran and now has developed close partnership with Saudi Arabia, an adversary of Tehran. It has also remained an ally of Israel.

Meanwhile, the recent OIC foreign ministers meeting in Islamabad adopted a comprehensive 14-page resolution, seeking settlement of the longstanding Kashmir dispute in line with the UN Security Council resolutions. It also denounced Indian actions of August 5, 2019, demanding restoration of the special status for occupied Kashmir. The OIC Contact Group on Kashmir also separately came up with what Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qurush said “a clear action plan” to go beyond resolutions on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.

For Pakistan, the OIC conference was a resounding success. On paper Pakistan has certainly managed to win support of OIC members on Kashmir. After the August 2019 move, some of the OIC countries, particularly our Arab friends, were reluctant to explicitly condemn India but at least in the OIC conference they showed support for Pakistan’s view. But at the time when the OIC foreign ministers were debating the issue of Kashmir and other challenges, CEOs of more than 30 companies belonging to Saudi Arabia and the UAE were in Srinagar exploring the possibility of investment opportunities in the disputed territory. In January, the UAE and India signed an MoU allowing UAE investors to make huge investments in occupied Kashmir.

And now the conference of investors from Gulf countries indicates how India has successfully managed to convince our Arab friends to make investment in the disputed territory. This is indeed a success of the Indian foreign policy if one looks at it from New Delhi’s perspective. One of the major factors behind this success is political stability, a prerequisite for ensuring continuity in economic, foreign and other policies. Foreign policy is a reflection of domestic policies. The uncertain domestic situation as we are currently going through cannot ensure a robust foreign policy.