Daily Times

China, in recent years, has not indulged in aggression against any country. It has resolved all its border and territorial issues with neighbouring countries and other states by peaceful means and negotiations – no matter how strenuous these may have been. China pursued this policy to resolve its border disputes with Russia, Central Asian Republics, Pakistan, and its territorial issues with the United Kingdom (Hong Kong) and Portugal (Macau). One of the planks of the Dengism was ‘to hide your power’ which China has carefully followed for decades unless it was forced to show its teeth. India has had two border clashes with China in 1962 when it was closely allied with the erstwhile Soviet Union, and this year when the Modi regimes has gone the whole hog to please the USA in countervailing the rising power of Asia. History shows both the military skirmishes were provoked by India.

The Indian ambition for grandeur has caused Pakistan enormous territorial loss, economic disadvantage and diplomatic embarrassment throughout the past 70 years. We could not stop it from occupying Kashmir in violation of the principles governing the Partition, and force it to honour the UNSC resolutions on Kashmir by bringing in enough international pressure; convince it to allow a small clause in the Tashkent Agreement for our face saving. It took advantage of our political blunders in former East Pakistan and helped it secede through military intervention. Now it publicly confesses to repeat its sinister game in Balochistan. It has pushed us into an endless nuclear arms race since four decades. The world, wittingly or unwittingly, has recognized it as the largest democracy. The size of its population, market and economy weighs on the priorities of the major world powers and help it get away with massive human rights violations in the Kashmir valley and against the hapless Muslim minority.

As put it by Ambassador Javid Hussain, we have a formidable enemy. It is not easy to face a large and powerful adversary whose political, strategic and military policies are shaped by the gospels of Kautilya and whose craving for grandeur is insatiate. No country in the region stands up in defiance of its hegemonic influence. The South Asian Regional Cooperation could not breathe under its heavy knee nor would any other political and economic initiative emerge to the benefit of the region without its agreement. Its proximity with the USA and its membership of the groupings of the large economies has added to its arrogance and given an impetus to its long cherished dream of dominating the grand Asia, notwithstanding the growing graph of the extreme poverty in the country. As the USA rivalry with China deepens, its importance in the American foreign and strategic policy calculations would correspondingly increase intensifying its adversarial stance against CPEC in the region, and its subversive attacks on the territorial integrity of Pakistan.

China would avoid any war in the coming three decades, concentrating, instead, on consolidating its economic gains and augmenting its technological prowess. Simultaneously, it would never compromise on its territorial integrity

With the chaotic political and the worsening economic conditions prevailing in the country, we cannot afford to let the hostility of our 800-pound gorilla neighbour to intensify. While remaining alert to the strategic and military moves of our adversary, we should hide our power and bide our time as the Deng Xiaoping advised his colleagues almost five decades ago. Proactive and direction-driven diplomacy should be our first defence line against the aggressive enemy. Our strategic moves should be guided purely by national interests. The nation should be galvanized and prepared for austerity to bring about structural reforms in the chronically ailing economy. In the recent past, major countries were brought down by sick economies than the nuclear weapons of the enemy. The Russians found their nuclear arsenal and the Warsaw Pact Security useless when their economy nosedived and the formidable Soviet Union disintegrated. Nations cannot fight any Cold War or active war without economic strength.

So, our priority at the domestic level should be the rehabilitation of the economy by structural reforms, massive curtailment of overhead expenses, aggressive promotion of exports and reduction in unnecessary imports, political stability, a corruption and mafia free, stable and democratic polity. At the international plane, we should thoroughly review our foreign policy on Kashmir, strategic relationship with the USA and our bilateral relations with our immediate neighbours. Prime Minister Imran Khan did well in appointing a thorough professional diplomat as Pakistan’s envoy to Afghanistan. We need to appoint professional envoys to Bangladesh, Iran and European Union. We have an all weather friendship with the People’s Republic of China which has stood us in good stead in difficult times. We need to further strengthen our strategic and economic cooperation with China. We should never forget China has never dispatched its troops in support of any friend nor should we harbour any expectation for Chinese active military support. In my view, China would avoid any war in the coming three decades, concentrating, instead, on consolidating its economic gains and augmenting its technological prowess. Simultaneously, it would never compromise on its territorial integrity.

Both the rulers and opposition should understand they have no other option than this course correction if we want to exist in the comity of nations as an honorable and dignified nation. We have lost many precious years and golden opportunities. We never appreciated the worth of freedom and enjoyed the dignity of an independent nation. How shameful it is that the only nuclear Muslim country lived on adhocism and remained on IMF crumbs while its leaders kept on feathering their nests acquiring expensive properties abroad, settling their children in Europe and North America with inflated bank balances. Gentlemen, we are at the end of our tether reaching the level of ‘now or never’.

Should I repeat the words of Roedad Khan “Jinnah’s Pakistan, the country of our dreams, has morphed into a nightmare of despair and despondency”. All the organs of the state should know it. Rather gloating over the strategic and economic misfortunes of our enemy, we should seriously engage in putting our house in order.

The author was a member of the Foreign Service of Pakistan and he has authored two books