Daily Times

The United States and Iran seem to be having a frigid relation for long. The success of Iran’s Nuclear Diplomacy by the (P5+1 states) rekindled the importance of International Law which is usually violated by the states owing to its limited juridical outreach and lack of executive authority with a separate desk. Consequently, Iran has procrastinated its nuclear program for a decade.

Pakistan and Iran hold fragile relationship towards each other. Apparently, it is due to Pakistan’s inclination towards Saudi Arabia. But undeniably, Iran has its own vested interests in the region. Despite the fact that Iran and Pakistan share commonality of religion, history, and culture; and also was, the first country recognized Pakistan after its independence. Soon after two months of the visit they both signed a treaty of friendship. So much so, Shah Pahelvi reportedly had proposed the idea of a confederation of Iran and Pakistan with a single army in the past. Likewise, both states became a membership of American-led organization the CENTO. However, Iran moved around to start its politico-economic alliance with India after the dismemberment of East Pakistan.

Unfortunately, Pakistan’s relationship with all its neighbouring countries is going frosty except China. Unlocking Central Asian States including Afghanistan for trade remains to be a real challenge to Pakistan. With the fast depletion of natural resources in the Arab world and other countries, the significance of the CARs is gradually soaring to the unknown heights. The mighty powers are being tempted to make all-out effort to unlock the land-locked energy-rich states. Likewise, Pakistan bears significance of its situation closer to them.

Iran is blessed with large swathes of land and having abundance of natural resources. Iran is located at the most important place which connect Pakistan with Turkey, which is considered to be a European state. Iran is also counted among the states which are having the potential of think-tanks. Around 70% of Iran’s population is literate. Thus, Iran has survived under the dark clouds by keeping the sanctity of its sovereignty intact in spite of foreign conspiracies.

Iran tends to assume a regional role to overshadow the economic might of Saudi Arabia. Seemingly, Iran’s relation with China is amicable but factually it is more based on strategic interests.  Also, Iran cannot afford to jettison India especially hostile to China and Pakistan’s interests. After all, Russia gives strength to Iran to stand up against all its outstanding exogenous challenges.

Moreover, the relationship between Iran and the US may continue to remain tensed due to the emerging global scenario of railway freight by China— interconnectivity of the world by means of railway instead of seaway— Iran is giving space to China to transport its goods till the Europe by railway. After all, ‘the rail journey is cheaper than sending freight by air and faster than a voyage by ship’. The converging points of the US and Iran would come about after the successful actualization of Chinese rail-road network. Since, China would need an access to penetrate Southern region of Europe via Iran by railway from Pakistan, whereas the US’s containment policy comes into play.

The US has resilient naval force which is equipped with advanced weapons and training, since American continent is situated around the oceans in solitude. The forces have a paramount potential to hold American imperialism stable. The US has deployed its forces throughout the world to maintain its unipolarity. Even its overwhelming sway across the Pacific Rim has impelled Chine to open the door of its western frontier for continuing with its trade and commerce uninterrupted. However, the recent successful circuit of the railway freight; Chinese goods transported from China to London and then transported the foreign goods from London to China through rail-road, must have posed a threat to the US’s way of making trade; seaway. Since China wants to interconnect the Eurasian region through rail-road, which is the most inexpensive ,feasible, and secured way to transport goods from one place to another. China has unveiled its network of One Belt, One Road (OBOR) to which she has greatly immersed herself in.

Further, President Xi Jinping will soon host 28 world leaders and representatives from another 70 countries to sell his hugely ambitious signature project. The plan is to build a vast network of new trade routes across the globe, multiple high-speed rail networks to penetrate Europe, massive ports across Asia and Africa and a series of free-trade zones. Resultantly, it will cement Chinese influence, closer to home, in the Pacific in countries like East Timor, Fiji and Papua New Guinea. The new trade routes will bring more business and big international companies in China and Pakistan by virtue of its opening of southern China and Chongqing to the world.

In addition, China is going to spend up to a trillion dollars on infrastructure projects and hopes to bind more than 65 countries and two thirds of the world’s population to its economy. Economists have ascribed the economic investment to a modern day Marshall Plan — which helped secure the US as the world’s superpower after World War II — but it’s much bigger than that in value. According to the today’s terms, the US only spent about $130 billion on the Marshall Plan, while China is hoping to spend much more. China’s aim is to lift trade by $2.5 trillion in a decade by flooding world markets with cheap, high-quality Chinese goods. Hence, it is said that ‘China is empire-building on a scale the world has not seen before’.

In fact, it is an attempt by the Chinese to secure global dominance at a time when the United States is stepping back, and on the domestic front to keep growth and wealth strong for decades to come. In the light of the above facts, China may be less interested in bringing about rapprochement between Pakistan and Afghanistan, but would rather more be interested in maintaining robust bilateral relationship with Afghanistan.  Iran is an option for China to ensure its access penetrating to the southern region of Europe. For this, Afghanistan may be ruled out. Pakistan’s rail-road may be used to connect Iran’s rail-road for transporting the freight in future.

Pakistan should strengthen its relationship with Iran. The complexities between both the states should be addressed by dual ends. Iran would need to have a shortest possible pipeline route for gas exports not only to Pakistan but China as well. For it Pakistan is the viable option. This shows the salvation of both states lies in mutual understanding and resolution of all reservations. Keeping in view that Pakistan is going to build strong infrastructure development and communication under the CPEC project. After all, making route via Afghanistan would not be on the cards for Iran under the prevailing situation of undeveloped infrastructure and acute sense of insecurity.

All things are possible in life if time is generous. It is high time for Pakistan to catch the essence of the world by means of imagination and reason; ’to turn experience into foresight; to become the creator of our future; and to cease to be the slaves of our past’. Moreover, ‘Pakistan should explore the most subversive depth of consciousness of the global players’. Let us not forget the saying of great philosopher Spinoza that “every conscious virtue is an effort to conceal a secret vice”.

The writer is an independent journalist and political commentator