Daily Times

US President Donald J. Trump will welcome Prime Minister Imran Khan to the White House on July 22. PM Khan’s US visit is a watershed moment not only for both countries bilateral relations but also for the region’s politics.

One of the countries which are going to be fretting over what’s happening in D.C. this week is India and its inimical lobby that has worked day and night for years to undermine Pakistan’s interests globally. However, frustrations for India are only going to grow in the weeks and months to come.

Let’s unpack some aspects of Pakistan’s diplomacy which is haunting New Dehli in many ways.

To begin with, Pakistan and the US’s bilateral relationship has improved significantly over the last few months. The rationale behind this progress is both states willingness to minimize the distresses of divergence of interests and introduce much-needed changes to their mutual positions concerning issues such as the Afghan peace process. Both Washington and Islamabad have come a long way when it comes to taking steps to build trust and base tangible policy actions on those foundations. For more than a decade, Pakistan maintained that peace in Afghanistan goes through dialogue with the Taliban. However, for a long time, Washington and New Dehli targeted Pakistan’s position as troublesome and tried to isolate the country. While the U.S. has come around and endorsed Pakistan’s position, India still stays adamant to following a policy which is destined to fail: India’s support for a government which stands on the shoulders of a few states financial help doesn’t drive legitimacy domestically. The world, including the U.S., is finally appreciating Pakistan’s policy on Afghanistan while India stands on the sidelines, boggled and stunned.

For the first time after a long time, Pakistan’s diplomacy is winning in the region and globally. Pakistan is setting itself as the pioneer of peace not only in Afghanistan but also when it comes to resetting terms of engagement with India. Arguably, its Pakistan’s diplomacy concerning the Kartarpur Corridor which forced India to converge its position with Pakistan’s policy initiative

Moreover, Pakistan’s commitment towards the Afghan peace process is reflective of the country’s efforts to bring peace in its tribal areas which have long been a victim of cross border terrorism. Last year, the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) were merged into Pakistan’s KP province, putting to rest more than a hundred years of colonial constitutional shackles. This has only been possible due to the improved security of the region which the country secured after years of tough battles with militant groups that have been supported from across the Durand Line. What India does in Pakistan was clear from the last week’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict in the Kulbushan Jadhav’s case. The court ruling was damning for New Dehli: ICJ didn’t reject Pakistan’s plea that Jadhav was an Indian spy sent to Pakistan to destabilize the country. The court’s ruling is hardly a surprise: for decades, New Dehli has committed resources and vast intelligence to prop-up groups and leaders to proliferate unrest in Pakistan’s tribal regions and Baluchistan province. The last week’s election in the erstwhile FATA region marks not only a new beginning for the region’s prosperous future but also a failure for India’s policy on both sides of the Durand Line.

Additionally, the welcome which PM Khan has received in the U.S. is unprecedented. The response which PM Khan’s visit has received from Pakistani diaspora is a clear reflection of the trust which the international community has on the current government. It’s encouraging to see that Pakistan and the US are focused on expanding bilateral trade rather than solely focusing on the transactional nature of the relationship. Pakistan’s cooperation with the US is not only going to remain focused on having a profound security partnership but also on building a strong trade relationship where both states stand to gain.

Regardless of which party one supports, one should admire the way Pakistan’s key military and civilian institutions are focused on resuscitating Pakistan’s soft power and the message is being received nationally and globally. For the first time after a long time, Pakistan’s diplomacy is winning in the region and globally. Pakistan is setting itself as the pioneer of peace not only in Afghanistan but also when it comes to resetting terms of engagement with India. Arguably, its Pakistan’s diplomacy concerning the Kartarpur Corridor which forced India to converge its position with Pakistan’s policy initiative. Moreover, on the domestic front, Pakistan is putting its house in order to choke all radical voices as they stand to undermine Pakistan’s security and sovereignty. Even Indian media, which is highly charged and biased has started to report that India’s policy in Kashmir is a security threat rather than accusations otherwise.

The emerging trends are a threat for India’s U.S. lobby: Pakistan recently signed a global lobbying firm to advance its interests in the US which is an indication of Islamabad’s aggressive diplomacy. We are seeing the results already: New Dehli was unable to undermine the visit and the resetting of Pakistan and the US’s bilateral relations. A so-called regional power is not anywhere on the table to write the peaceful future of Afghanistan; its Pakistan, China, Russia, and the US which are leading the effort. With the COAS accompanying PM Khan, Pakistan’s military cooperation with the US has already taken a boost. It’s expected that Pakistan’s military training programs are going to be reinstated by the US. It’s also possible that Pakistan’s military and civilian leadership will bring up the issue of India’s subversive activities in the region as Islamabad enters a new era of partnership with the US.

The writer is a freelance journalist