Daily Times

Imran Khan was recently visited by Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Honardoost, who congratulated the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief on his electoral win. During the meeting, the former-cricketer-turned-politician spoke of his future plans for peace.

Khan is well on his way to becoming the next prime minister and reiterated that he hopes to perform a constructive role between Saudi Arabia and Iran, who have stood on opposing sides of the region’s conflict for as long as most can remember. Peace for these two countries is not as easy as a well-written speech, and when Khan gets down to business he may end up realising this the hard way.

Pakistan has an interesting relationship with both Saudi Arabia and Iran. This isn’t the first time that a Pakistani leader had gone on record to say that they will look towards promoting peace between the two countries — but none have been able to walk the talk.

The Middle East is a saucepan ready to be lit on fire at any given time. Pakistan should remain entirely neutral in its dealings within this region. In reality, despite past statements and efforts, none of our leaders have managed to remain impartial. For instance, our parliamentarians took democratic steps to bow out of the Yemen conflict, yet our former COAS took up a leading position in a coalition that entirely shuns Iran.

For Pakistan to truly play a positive role, the country needs to practice neutrality, come hell or high water; and this includes relations with Qatar, which is engaged in a continued standoff with Saudi Arabia.

To move forward as the forebearer of peace, Khan will have to revisit Pakistan’s role in the Islamic Military coalition, which is currently Sunni-centric and excludes Iran entirely. This tall order needs serious diplomatic overtures and foreign policy recalibration.

Khan’s predecessors have said much and done little on this front. Will Khan be an exception? Only time will tell.  *

Published in Daily Times, August 5^th 2018.