Pakistan and Myanmar have moved to revive a relationship that, for years, existed mostly as protocol. This week’s visit by Myanmar’s Foreign Minister Than Swe and the decision to institutionalise engagement through an MoU on political consultations signal a diplomatic reset after a long lull.
The reset is notable precisely because the Rohingya crisis had hardened the tone. Pakistan has, time and again, condemned Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya at international forums and, at different moments, extended humanitarian assistance. Islamabad now emphasises dialogue and diplomacy as the route to resolving contentious issues.
The government will argue, reasonably, that Pakistan’s foreign policy cannot be trapped in permanent moral outrage. It must keep doors open, especially in a region where SAARC has been paralysed for years and the diplomatic costs of an India-centric South Asian order remain high. Yet the temptation in such moments is to sell engagement as a triumph in itself. That would be a mistake. Pakistan has too often mistaken movement for strategy, assuming that signing documents produces outcomes.
The geopolitical subtext is not hard to read. Islamabad has been exploring regional workarounds to SAARC’s stagnation, including a proposed trilateral mechanism with Bangladesh and China that Pakistani officials have argued could be expanded or replicated.
Myanmar fits, in theory, into a wider imagination: an opening to ASEAN markets, a chance to diversify beyond familiar corridors, and a way to remind the region that Pakistan is more than its rivalry with India. But, here too, the country must beware the romance of maps.
There is also a basic economic reality that should sober the rhetoric. Pakistan-Myanmar trade is too small to sustain the political expectations now being created. If trade is to grow, it will not be because leaders pledged cooperation in all areas. It will grow only if both sides confront the practical constraints, including banking channels, shipping routes, and business confidence.
This is where the government’s humanitarian diplomacy argument enters. Pakistan dispatched around 70 tonnes of relief after Myanmar’s March 2025 earthquake, and officials presented that assistance as solidarity rooted in Pakistan’s own disaster memory.
What should Islamabad aim for, then? Start small, verifiable, and low-risk. Build a functioning framework for consular facilitation and business travel. Pursue targeted export baskets where Pakistan is competitive and payment channels are clear.
Use cultural and academic exchanges to deepen contact beyond uniforms and ministries. And treat religious tourism as an opportunity only if it is backed by credible infrastructure and security planning rather than press statements. *