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#1
05-22-2017, 05:48 AM
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Neighbours to learn to co-exist
Head of PPP Media Cell
Pakistan’s relations with its three neighbouring countries — Iran, Afghanistan and India — are sadly at the lowest ebb. This is disturbing because it prima facie reflects poorly on our foreign policy and those who formulate and execute it. This has cost us heavily in the domains of diplomacy, eco**my and security. It may also hold country’s socio-eco**mic development back, hopefully moderately, as projects under the CPEC get operational after execution. Admittedly, without the peaceful borders in the East and the West the attainment of requisite stability in Pakistan will remain a pipe dream, so critical for the growth of the eco**my at an accelerated pace. The building of walls of disengagement is anti-thesis of diplomacy. It is bound to create pitfalls with the s**wball impact that may hurt the country’s image internationally as **t worthy of doing business with. Pakistan is going to suffer more on this count as the present equation is three against one. It is alarming situation and its longevity may cut to the bones. It may be rectified to blunt the edge of the reckless pursuit. It is a matter of common sense that Pakistan should seriously contemplate undertaking smart and honest diplomatic initiatives to build bridges without malice followed by futuristic CBMs without compromising its stated principled position on important issues like Kashmir. China and India have grown their trade relations to enviable heights **twithstanding of their border disputes. The success of this model may be seriously replicated by Pakistan because becoming hostage to fixations and hoping each time for better outcome had never worked so far and may never be so in the future as well. Imposition of military solution is chimera after Pakistan and India became nuclear powers. A stable, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan may be better qualified to be source of inspiration for the world than a retrogressive, poor, unstable and divided country. Pakistan and India’s insistence of prioritising the rules of engagement to improve relations had **t borne fruit till today and would **t accrue so in the foreseeable future as well. The paradigm shift is necessitated on the part of the leadership of the two countries to improve relations failing which both the countries would remain stuck in the quagmire of myth and peace will remain a forlorn hope to the utter frustration of the people of the respective countries who have been reeling from abject poverty and ig**rance for so long. It may hurt Pakistan more than India because of the size of the eco**my of our neighbour. Pakistani people do **t deserve to end up as bystanders lamenting their failures, or may be grudging the achievements of their adversary. The country’s leadership without relying on doomsday scenario should read the pace of events as unfolding at the regional and global levels and formulate viable and sustainable policies to serve its national interests while promoting regional and international peace at the same time. The international community is desperate to see the commencement of process of **rmalisations of relations between the two nuclear neighbours. But, its frustration and an**yance do **t get respite because both the countries are in the collision course in words and actions. The prospects of thaw seem as elusive as ever mainly due to the domestic obdurate constituencies and state institutions. The grim situation is further aggravated because the **n-state actors, lately in India, have become powerful e**ugh to scare the political leadership to indifference. The monster of hate is spreading its vicious tentacles among the countries, the fact that can**t be disputed any more. Who is at fault? Fault lies on both sides because it takes two to tango. Pakistan is at odds with three neighbouring countries with the exception of China whose comfort level with Pakistan is though subject to sporadic little tumbling but the shared vision and commonality of interests had kept the relation on even keel. But, Pakistan’s relations with India, Afghanistan and lately with Iran have gone from bad to worse. Skirmishes of various types between Afghanistan and Pakistan have become quite frequent. Iran has joined the chorus of accusations that Pakistan’s soil is being used to carry out terrorist activities inside Iran. Hostility between India and Pakistan never subsided to the bonhomie level. It calls for immediate introspection on the part of civil and military leadership of Pakistan to address the adversarial circumstances because the continuity of such relations are bound to hurt this country more than the three countries collectively. We are one against three on the other side of the fence and the inevitable downside outcome may **t surprise. Pakistan can**t afford the enmity of three neighbouring countries in terms of blood and treasure. Pakistan, therefore, may spearhead the initiative based on peaceful co-existence because confrontation means unabated bleeding of the parties to total impairment eventually if **t stopped at the right time. It is daunting task but it is the prime duty of the visionary leadership of the countries to turn the adversary into opportunity ** matter how complex the circumstances may be. The leadership that fails to deliver under the testing times can**t be deemed as worthwhile leadership. PPP Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, during his recent visit to the KPK, has underscored the importance of building bridges **t walls between Pakistan and its neighbouring countries, adding that during PPP government relations with Afghanistan and Iran were cordial and with India were contextually so so. The concerted efforts were afoot to improve the relations further. Inauguration of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project in 2013 was the physical manifestation of the growing brotherly relations between the two countries. He was critical of the incumbent government that had brought the relations to this pass where our brotherly neighbouring countries were openly blaming Pakistan engaged in activities detrimental to their countries’ security interests. The Iranian Army commander even threatened to order its troops to enter Pakistan’s territory and destroy the militants infrastructure located there. It was an unprecedented threat that was handed out after the visit of the Iranian foreign minister to Pakistan and also a letter written by Iranian president to the prime minister of Pakistan on the subject. It is **t difficult to draw the conclusion of the level of Iranian concern about Pakistan. It may be mentioned here that Iranian government was **t happy of Pakistan’s joining the Saudi-led alliance against terrorism to the exclusion of Iran. The government’s stance that it would **t become part of any armed conflict among the Muslim countries was although reassuring but apparently did **t satisfy the neighbouring country. Iranian government might have taken the assurance of Pakistan on its face value but they were indeed skeptical from the core of their heart. Pakistan found itself in difficult situation to maintain balance in its ties with Iran and SA. Pakistan’s guiding principle of foreign policy **t to build relations at the expense of other Muslim country may win back Iran if the principle is implemented in its totality in the future. **ted columnist Hamid Mir in his recent column has warned the Pakistan government of dire consequences if it becomes the active partner of the coalition that may assume the configuration of Sunni-Shia conflict. Pakistan should tread very carefully and take the leaf from the prevailing horrendous conditions in Iraq, Syria and other Muslim countries. Pakistan is already fighting the war of its survival, and inviting a**ther trouble with sectarian overtones may erode the ground underneath from our feet. Pakistan‘s stepping aside will bode well at home as both Sunni-Shia communities will continue to live in harmony. The government may take all parties into confidence for formulating the rules of engagement to be applied when fighting terrorism under the umbrella Saudi-led Coalition. It is advised **t to take the decision unilaterally. It may be recalled, the unanimous decision of the Pakistan Parliament **t to become the part of the coalition in Yemen was the manifestation of the collective wisdom at its best that bailed out the incumbent government from a very difficult situation wrought with dangers. Pakistan can**t afford legacies of the successive dictators to engage in proxy wars those had caused havoc to this country of appalling proportion. [email protected] أكثر... 
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العرض الشجري