A number of very important things would’ve been discussed during Iran Foreign Minister Javed Zarif’s two-day visit. And even though the usual press conferences will tend to highlight the usual aspects of the discussions, like bilateral relations and regional cooperation, you can be sure that the talks touched upon many other areas. This is the Iranian FM’s fourth visit to Pakistan in the last two-and-a-half years and by far the most important one particularly because of its timing. It coincides with the election result in the United States, and Joe Biden’s victory could well lead to easing of some sanctions that have currently pushed Iran completely out of the international market, so the first thing both sides would be eager to shake hands on would be some sort of trade deal that binds them together for the long term. There’s more. American foreign policy during the Trump administration pushed China and Iran very close to each other. And just like Beijing has the CPEC arrangement with Pakistan, it has also signed a multi-year cooperation deal with Iran. The idea now would be to get Pakistan to play a role in the alliance as well, especially since both Tehran’s and Beijing’s relations with Moscow stretch it to as far as Russia. All that is needed is for Islamabad to hop on board as well, with its strategic port and geopolitical significance, and a formidable arc will form across the whole region. This partnership has been quite a while in the making. Yet all the time the Russians, Chinese and Iranians have been progressing towards a shared, forward-looking goal, Pakistan’s close alliances with some Gulf states and dependence on American aid and military hardware has kept it anchored to another camp altogether. But now that the Americans have chosen India as their chief client state in the region, and tied it to their Pivot to Asia policy, surely it is time for Pakistan to watch out for its own interests as well. PM Imran Khan, to his credit, recently went as far as to point out in no uncertain terms that our future is now tied with China’s. Pakistan also needs to realise that this is a natural alliance. Both the US and India are at serious odds with China while our friendship with the Chinese is fabled – deeper than oceans, higher than mountains, and all that. And Iran is one of the very few countries that has openly supported our position on Kashmir and called India out for its illegal occupation and human rights violations. It’s time for Pakistan to step up to the plate. *