Daily Times

A country that has recently undergone a radical political change will be represented by the newly elected Prime Minister Imran Khan in the upcoming United Nation’s twenty second General Assembly session that will take place at New York. Of the many issues that will test the mettle of his foreign policy; the core issues are the Kashmir dispute, Pakistan’s aggravating relations with the U.S. and its implication in the inclusion of Pakistan in Financial Action Task Force’s grey list.

Previously, in his victory speech, Imran Khan expressed his plans to implement the ‘China Model’ for domestic prosperity. However, this model can also be implemented while directing our foreign policy. One needs to know that China has a $400 billion bilateral trade with India and Japan. Despite China having various territorial disputes and war history with both countries, China’s art in fostering diplomatic ties and evolving interdependencies with its rivals are lessons to learn for countries facing diplomatic crises.

This perspective of the ‘China Model’ can be correlated directly with the Indo-Pak relations that have been riddled with disputes and military standoffs. A bilateral trade with India would do no harm. Perhaps India would seriously sit for conclusive talks regarding Kashmir, only if it had any stakes in Pakistan. India sees the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the China Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC) as an opportunity to develop trade routes with the Central Asian countries and Kabul, which are expensive to access via air travel.

However, giving India an easy link to Kabul could also be a security threat. For this purpose, the peace process in Afghanistan should be given serious attention. As Imran said, peace in Afghanistan is the only way for peace in Pakistan. Now with the US ready to pursue peace talks with the Taliban, Imran also has to find ways to consolidate the peace process. Moreover Pakistani hopes for a Pro-Pakistani or neutral government in Afghanistan, has to be evaluated taking into account other stakeholders such as Russia, India, US and the Taliban. This will in turn develop a power-sharing mechanism in Afghanistan that will be advantageous to all parties involved.

Imran and the new Finance Minister, Asad Umer have both shown concern over Pakistan’s current financial crisis, but they need to keep in mind that a good foreign policy is the best way forward for better economic relations with other countries

In whatever ways Imran Khan deals with the external governments, a detrimental crisis is hanging around the corner for him in the form of the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) grey list. Our successful military operation and the ongoing National Action Plan implementation are to be projected to the UN member states in a bid to convince them for supporting our removal from the haunting FATF grey list. Anti-Money laundering acts are to be bolstered in all aspects whether political, social or through religious seminaries.

If indispensable steps are not taken, Pakistan might have to face isolation. The inclusion of Pakistan in the watchdog’s list will be a deterrent to Imran’s idea of bringing foreign investments and ‘peoplepower’ to the country. Imran and the new Finance Minister, Asad Umer have both shown concern over Pakistan’s current financial crisis, but they need to keep in mind that a good foreign policy is the best way forward for better economic relations with other countries.

Lastly, we must pay attention to the concept and methodology of ‘soft power’. The compendium of which would propagate Pakistani goals; efforts in the poverty alleviation campaign, educational and social sector reforms etc. Alongside showcasing these improvements to the international community, Pakistan’s signing of the Sustainable Development Goals will help advance its negative global image.

The author is a student and can be reached at afatirkhan@gmail.com

Published in Daily Times, August 25^th 2018.