Foreign Policy of Pakistan Post 9/11


Introduction

Foreign policy of any nation is determined by the number of factors like security, economy, geography, ideological interest and many more. Pakistan, because of its historic past and its position in the Muslim world had to face tough choices in terms of foreign policy making. The country‟s foreign policy was mostly based on its security and economic interests. Pakistan‟s rivalry with India and the issue of Kashmir reflected heavily upon its foreign policy during the Cold War period and it still does have a profound effect on the country‟s foreign policy. The country after maintaining a period of neutrality during the initial phase of Cold War decided to choose its path by being the part of Baghdad Pact in 1955, a move which annoyed the Muslim world. Pakistan, however, justified this alliance by claiming this was done in order to secure protection from India.

After the creation of Pakistan on religious grounds, there were questions concerning not only the survival of Pakistan, but also regarding its ideology - whether it would be an Islamic state or a secular one. The founding father of the country, Mohammad Ali Jinnah made it clear at the very outset that Pakistan will be a secular state with religious freedom granted to everyone regardless of their particular faith. Pakistan was a country composed principally of Muslims but essentially secular and democratic in its constitution and political institutions. He made this clear in a speech on 11 August 1947, three days before independence, when he told members of the Constituent Assembly that: 'You are free to go to your temples; you are free to go to your mosques or to any other places of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has got nothing to do with the business of the State.‟ There have been instances of Islamization of Pakistan‟s foreign policy under different regimes. Also, the Pakistan‟s establishment faced pressure from the ulemas who wanted the state to be declared as an Islamic state in principle. Pakistan suffered a massive jolt by the unfolding of events in 1971 when it lost its East Pakistan – present day Bangladesh, which also brought to fore the active part played by India in this process. This resulted in an even greater animosity between India and Pakistanand thetwo countries started looking at each other as a threat. This was aptly summed up by Bhutto, under whom Pakistan showed much vigour and vision in its foreign policy, when he made a statement in 1965 that “if India makes an atomic bomb, then we will also do so, even if we have to eat grass, an atomic bomb can only be answered by an atomic bomb.” So, marred by the severe challenges from both outside and within, Pakistan formally chalked its foreign policy which was based on its security and economic interests.In the wake of Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, Pakistan joined the US led military coalition (NATO) and fought against the Soviet led communism. In its pursuit of foreign policy goals, the country sought to improve its relationship both within the region and outside as well. Moreover, the country tried unsuccessfully to pursue its independent foreign policy and reduce its growing dependency on US. The country has maintained stronger ties with China and Saudi Arabia since long.Pakistan after a brief period of resentment from many Muslim countries,has now improved its relationship with many countries in the Gulf region, and also it has improved its ties with the countries in Central and South Asia.

Pakistan’s Foreign Policy towards the United States 9/11 was a watershed moment in the annals of the modern times. It was an event which shook the world and changed the dynamics of world politics. This all happened when twin towers in America were hit by hijacked planes and the men from Al- Qaeda were said to responsible for the attack. This attack not only resulted in the death of more than 3000 people, but shook the very pride of the US and took the world by storm. What followed thereafter is what is referred to as “War on Terror” . The US was very firm in its stand to wipe out the roots of the terrorism and to bringperpetratorsof the attack to justice. In its fight against terror, the US garnered international support and thus began the never ending circle of violence, whose first victim became Afghanistan.Pakistan shared cordial relations with the US which were marred by occasional breakdowns because of the shaping of political events in Pakistan. Disappointment at the US support to India during the Sino-India war and the breakdown of democracy in Pakistan especially after Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was removed from office dented the relationship between the two countries....

Pakistan’s Foreign Policy towards Afghanistan: Ever since Afghanistan and Pakistan fought on the same side in their fight against Soviet Union, the two countries have been far from maintaining cordial relationship with each other. The two Countries sharing the same history and bound by ties of faith, culture and geographical proximity have locked horns over issues related to security and Pashtuns. In its attempt to achieve its broader foreign policy goals, Pakistan has sought to mend its ties with Afghanistan with whom it also had troubled past relations as it is being blamed for its interference in country‟s politics including the support from ISI to start insurgency in Afghanistan for its own interests and ambitions. The underlying assumption for this Pakistan interference was that after the withdrawal of US forces, the US will grant leeway to India to use its influence in Afghanistan and thus will undermine the authority of Pakistan. Failing to achieve its set of objectives from Afghan War (rebuilding the Afghan state and defeating Taliban), the US and NATO forces began to withdraw from Afghanistan and the country was left in shambles with the threat of civil war looming war...

Relations with China and Russia: In what is referred to as Diplomatic Outreach,Pakistan‟s has over the period of time built healthy relations with China despite being inclined more towards the West. China understood that it was because of security challenges Pakistan feared from India that it was comfortable with choosing Pakistan as its strong regional ally and in return Pakistan supported China‟s berth in UN Security Council. The relationship between the two countries has for the most part been cordial and even after the incident of 9/11, the relationship between the two witnessed an upward trend and the period was marked by frequent exchanges of heads of states and the signing of various agreements, one among them being the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Good Neighborly Relations in 2005.37 Pakistan will be keen to further strengthen its ties with China and to take this relationship to new heights which gets reflected by its willingness to open the traditional Silk Route which connects the West and the East and thus to give boost to their economic ties. Also, Pakistan has handed over Gwadar Port to China which links South Asia to China and Central and West Asia and can help Pakistan to give a further push to its economy; this move has raised ripples in India who think it to be the strategic move from China which it could use against India in case of a war...

Relationship with the Gulf and the Middle East: With the countries in the Gulf, Pakistan has always maintained a healthy relationship more particularly with Saudi Arabia which has been a long term ally and a trusted friend of Pakistan. At the times when sanctions were imposed on Pakistan, Saudi Arabia acted as a saviour for the country on numerous occasions by providing aid and other logistical support. The strong Muslim connection apart from the security reasons has been a driving force for this relationship to thrive, but Pakistan has for most of the times been caught up in the battle for regional supremacy between Saudi Arabia, Iran and Turkey. While as Arab countries in the Middle East have looked upon Pakistan as a Muslim power, as it is the only Muslim nuclear power country, Pakistan in turn has supported the countries in the region on many instances by opposing the war on Iraq and also on Iran over the latter‟s nuclear programme. It has also refused to accept the statehood of Israel and also supports the fight for the recognition of independent Palestine. Pakistan for the most of its part maintained neutrality when the “Arab Spring” swept the Middle East region in 2008 and brought about the regime changes in Tunisia Egypt, Libya and has unleashed civil war in Syria which has killed more than 200,000 people.  It was only recently in a significant departure from its position of neutrality that Pakistan has decided to oppose any attempt which threatens the removal of Assad. The resourceful region has always remained a source of attraction for most of the countries and thus Pakistan is not staying behind because of its own interests in the region.

Conclusion 
Pakistan's foreign policy like any other country has been expanding its sphere of influence not only in the region, but in the world politics as well. Its foreign policy has for the most part been Indo-centric which has thus impeded its growth in relationship with other countries.Pakistan perceives existential threat to its territorial integrity from India and this consideration has always essentially influenced its foreign policy and behaviour. The country‟s backing of non-state actors in its proxy war against India has backfired as is evident from the mounting attacks from TTP (Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan) and other elements on its own soil. The precarious security situation in the country has posed serious challenges to its existence and the elements hell bent upon seeing Pakistan in chaos should be tamed by taking every stakeholder on board. So the need of the hour is to have better relations with the neighbouring countries, more particularly with India which is in the mutual interest of both the countries. The need to initiate dialogue and negotiation for resolving the pending issues is only the best way forward. Moreover, Pakistan has excessively relied on the US that no doubt has helped the country to boost its economy and defense capability, but it has also brought miseries of unprecedented magnitude to the country and thus alienated the large section of its society, which does not augur well for any country.It is the time for Pakistan to stand up to face the mounting challenges and try to address its spiraling internal issues, rather than to remain obsessed with India.Unless and until Pakistan does not have a good relationship with its neighboring countries, more particularly with India and Afghanistan, the more problematic it becomes to pursue its own national interests and to bring about stability and peace in South Asia.

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