Daily Times

It’s not fun being Nawaz Sharif at the moment. He can’t decide where to plonk himself down. For neither the devil nor the deep blue sea looks particularly inviting at the moment. Yet he likely can’t help but wonder at the unfairness of it all.

For the tragedy is that all these years without a Foreign Minister and the gentleman who has been less than two months on the job seems to be filling the boots quite nicely. Meaning that he is having his time under the international spotlight. To be sure, this is not bathing him in any sort of warm and hazy glow. Rather, Khawaja Asif has found himself in the eye of the political storm that is currently engulfing Pakistan. And thus far he seems to be holding his own.

Indeed, he has done more than a bit of straight talking. Particularly to the US over increased belligerence regarding certain terrorist groups that continue to operate within Pakistan’s borders. Yet when he called out the White House for its previous wooing of such groups as the Haqqani network and the Afghan Mujahedeen — the US was not his only intended audience.

For Pakistan has begun to understand that is has an image problem that surprisingly has little to do with links to terrorist attacks on the US homeland. Indeed the narrative coming out of Washington-based think tanks from the beginning of this year suggests that this has much more to do with cross-border incursions into both India and Afghanistan. For bluntly put, this threatens US vital assets in the region. While also indicating that the Americans are not going anywhere anytime soon. At least not until they establish hegemony over this crucial neighbourhood.

Unless Kashmir is centre stage — the Indo-Pak arms race will continue. Indeed, Pakistan has reportedly sought China’s help in building a nuclear capable submarine. Never mind that India is also said to be exploring the same. This is exactly what the US doesn’t want — Beijing becoming ever more deeply entrenched in the South Asian security paradigm

For if Washington were serious about having India as its strategic partner for the 21st century — as opposed to enjoying a purely transactional relationship in the form of containing a rising China — it would presumably want the country to be as secure and stable as possible. And resolving Kashmir holds the key to this. It’s a shame that the FM didn’t go as far as adding this to the shade he was throwing on Washington. Though to be fair, Pakistan had just a week ago presented the UN with an ultimatum of sorts: to prove its mettle the world body would have to appoint a Special Envoy to the disputed territory. While also revisiting past Security Council resolutions.

This was no changing of the conversation. But a recognition that Pakistan’s proxies would have no raison d’être, in theory at least, if Kashmir is taken off the back burner. Indeed, it was possibly even more than this. The admission that such militant groups represent nothing but liabilities to this country’s very survival may be seen as an overture to India. The tentative presenting of Pakistan as a sincere partner for peace.

For unless we put Kashmir centre stage — there will never be any end to Indo-Pak hostilities. Instead what we will have is an increased arms race between the two sides. Indeed there have been reports that Pakistan has sought China’s help in building a nuclear capable submarine. Never mind that India is also said to be exploring the same. This is exactly what the US doesn’t want. Namely, Beijing becoming ever more deeply entrenched in the South Asian security paradigm.

As for Afghanistan, the US is irked that Pakistan’s support of suspect groups has been thwarting the American mission in Kabul from the beginning. Yet Washington could have circumvented this in one fell swoop if only it had been willing to negotiate a political settlement out of the Afghan quagmire. Presently, the US position is an embrace of this position. Of sorts. Meaning that it has seemingly outsourced the entire responsibility for this to Afghanistan, Pakistan and now India, too. The likelihood of this working out well for all involved doesn’t look particularly hopeful. Not with two nuclear powers becoming more deeply embroiled in potential confrontation in an already hostile environment. Yet this serves to justify prolonged US presence in the region. After all, Afghanistan is strategically linked to Central Asia. And securing the latter is vital in the battle for natural resources. This is to say nothing of the massive and untapped natural mineral reserves that Afghanistan is itself said to be home to.

Thus what Khawaja Asif was doing was trying to buy Pakistan a little more time; to avoid the nuclear option for as long as possible or at least until next year’s election. For once Pakistan is pushed across the line and is declared a terrorist state — any controls over the South Asia nuclear arms race will be forever lost; while the threat of Al Qaeda has been replaced by ISIS. All of which would create the climate whereby military boots would be pushed centre stage once more. Which may or may not be a risky gamble. Already this country has the world’s fastest growing nuclear stockpile and is well on its way to having the fourth or fifth largest arsenal globally. Even today there are those analysts who remain convinced that if this generation is to see a nuclear war it will be in this part of the world.

In short, what Khawaja Asif did in New York was to launch an appeal to the US to support Pakistani democracy. Or at the very least it was a gentle reminder that Washington has the same blood on its hands. And there is nothing that Nawaz Sharif can do about it.

The writer is the Deputy Managing Editor, Daily Times. She can be reached at mirandahusain@me.com and tweets @humeiwei

Published in Daily Times, September 29^th 2017.