Reinvigorating ties

Pakistan must reorient its foreign relations keeping in view its national interests. Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari simply pushed the envelope when he said domestic issues required the quick rebuilding of ties, and restoring trust with key capitals. Addressing an event yesterday, he stressed the need for reinvigorating extensive engagement with traditional partners, and that is where the nucleus of Pakistan’s future rests. This proportion is in relevance with Islamabad’s policy of shunning bloc politics and recrafting new alliances with countries on the premise of self-respect and sovereignty. This opens vistas of greater cooperation with major world powers as well as regional entities.

The minister was apt as he emphasised the need for imaginative and multi-dimensional thinking. This is the only way to transform and reposition the country’s geopolitical and economic muscles in an era of extra-territorial alliances. Pakistan’s strategic nexus with China and its ambitious BRI project that links five continents makes them irresistible allies. Coupled with this is the flagship developmental $60 billion CPEC programme that poses Pakistan at the crossroads of new geopolitical amalgamations. To realise this bonanza, it is a must to settle down Afghanistan, and do away with the fissures of instability and terrorism. Such a policy can only be a success when Pakistan’s relations with all of its regional neighbours, including India, is seen through the new prism of geo-economics, and necessary amends made to get going.

Pakistan’s new window of opportunity is Russia, and it is wise thinking that Islamabad is out to reset the ties with the Kremlin. This does not mean that Pakistan is a party to warmongering in Ukraine, as it principally condemns aggression and calls on for protecting Kiev’s territorial integrity. This is what is called a new balanced foreign policy, and dumps the notions of ‘with us or with them.’ Tapping the potential in Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia and South America should be the new talking points in years to come.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2023.

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