Daily Times

Foreign policy is the country’s first line of defence and militarism is a political orientation of a government or people to maintain a strong military force to use aggressively to defend or promote national interests.A country’s foreign policyconsists of strategies chosen by the state to safeguard its vital national interests. There are two guiding principles of Pakistan’s foreign policy, the first is the desire to ‘escape India’ in the sense of creating a national identity based on two nations theory. Thus, Pakistan has preferred to be referred to as a “Greater Middle Eastern” country and not as a South Asian one.The second principle is the desire for parity with India. Additionally, since its inception the foreign stratagem of Pakistan has always been uncertain when it comes to myriads of crucial matters such as its relations with Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel and Pakistan’s role amidst the great powers like the US, USSR, and China.

Pakistan-Saudi relations have been strong for decades since Saudi Arabia is a major source of financial support for Pakistan.Riyadh has been among Pakistan’s strongest supporters on the Kashmir issue and the two have been allies for decades in Afghan conflict.But recently, Pakistan- Saudi relations have gone uncomfortable for a while. Saudi Arabia is not happy with Pakistan for fraternizing with Iran, Turkey and Malaysia which are rivals to Riyadh’s leadership of the Muslim world. Another important reason for Saudi Arabia cracking the whip on Pakistan is Saudis’ strengthening economic and security relationship with India therefore avoiding traditional solidarity on Kashmir issue.

India though strictlyadheres to the dictum that road to Washington DC lies through Tel Aviv, yetSaudi Arabia and India have traditionally enjoyed close friendly relations. The current scenario is unlike the “Cold War” period when India-Saudi Arabia ties were determined by ‘Pakistani factor’. Saudi Arabia willfullyselected a tangent and mild approach on abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and had signaled that it understands Indian concerns and sensitivities on the Kashmir issue.

Engagement between Washington and Jerusalem could include China as a regular item in discussions and policy decisions

The Saudi Arabia -Iran and the USA-Iranrivalry is one of the leading dimensions that ultimately shapes and fine-tunes India’sMiddle Eastforeign policy. India has close relations with both Saudi Arabia as well as Iran but yet needs to work out a way to balance it.Pakistan must manage the Saudi-Iran rivalry with equal care and should never provide its turf as a battleground for the sectarian confrontation of these countries.

China has become a crucial partner to Saudi Arabia being one of the largest oil clients, but the United States is nevertheless providing defense umbrella to the Middle East. Chinese doesn’t want to take over or relieve / share this responsibility considering the United States influence in the Middle East.

It is not clear if Saudi funding of militant anti-Shiite, anti-Iranian madrassas that dot the Iran-Pakistan border is government-sourced or tacitly endorsed by Riyadh. Sufficient evidence indicates the Saudis are considering the possibility of destabilizing Iran by stirring unrest among its ethnic minorities. If Saudi Arabia and the USA wanted to wage a war against Iran, Baluchistan would be part of the battleground, which is the center point of China’s BRI.

The key question is how long China can walk the tightrope between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and at what point will it become an issue? China’s relationship with Iran is much older than China’s relations with Saudi Arabia. Chinese and Iranians understand each other on a deeper level as each one book-ends the Asian continent. Iran as a land-link for China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) makes Iran important since one BRI corridor ends in Tehran.

Since the early 2000s, relations between China and Israel have expanded rapidly in numerous areas, including diplomacy, trade, investment, construction, educational partnerships, scientific cooperation, and tourism. China’s primary interests in Israel are advanced technology and Israel’s location as part of the Belt and Road Initiative. Israel seeks to expand its diplomatic and economic ties with the world’s fastest growing major economy to diversify its export markets and investments from the United States and Europe. Although evolving relations with China present Israel with important opportunities, they also present a variety of challenges.

Engagement between Washington and Jerusalem could include China as a regular item in discussions and policy decisions. Israel and the United States may ensure regular information-sharing and joint monitoring of the nature and extent of Chinese investments and economic activities in Israel and in the broader Middle East. This is especially important as growing voices in Israel call for developing a process to scrutinize Chinese economic practices more closely.

The diplomatic brass of Pakistan is likely to encounter numerous formidable challenges in the near future. Pakistan ended up in the quagmire during the Cold War, the problem is going to get worse in the coming years as one contender of global supremacy, China is a direct neighbour.

After the revocation of article 370, India faced the slightest of condemnation because of her sounder foreign relations and economic standing in the world and the sooner Pakistan realises thisfact, the better it will be. The Ongoing Afghan peace process ought to be observed meticulously. Pakistan should look for alternatives to safeguard its national interests by giving way to a new dawn, which is not based on perpetual obsession in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s foreign policy has to transform from limited in regional scope towards the Middle East and South Asia, to a strategy that is moving towards developing and strengthening relations with China, Iran, and Russia. The changing priorities behind Pakistan’s strategic interests have accentuated the need to secure: new sources of energy; new markets for its products, services and labour; a way to contain and limit India’s expanding regional influence and the necessity to retain an amicable relationship with the USA. Furthermore, Pakistan has never encountered a direct or indirect covert as well as overt hostile threat from Israel except a few fictional stories by radical elements. This is the opportune moment for exploring the avenue to normalize diplomatic ties with Israel as the Arab World is already moving forward in this restricted space. This may help Pakistan to neutralize Indian influence with the Zionist world.

The writer is a retired Pakistan Army Officer. Contact: nawazish30@hotmail.com