For the readers of international relations, it remains the stark fact that is not only the UN peacekeeping mission where Pakistan has been keeping an epoch- making record but also in the domain of international peace diplomacy, Pakistan has set a historical record as a peace mediator. Recently, Dr Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State boldly admitted Pakistan’s role in felicitating the US-China peace dialogue during the peak of the Cold war period. This confession was made during a high-level webinar event organized by China’s State Council in Beijing last month. As a harbinger of global Peace, Pakistan seeks harmony and peace among nations.
Remembering the US-China tensions during the Cold war, Dr Kissinger recounted how the first message from China was in the form of a handwritten note, which was personally dictated to him in the White House by the then Pakistan Ambassador in Washington, Agha Hilaly. Speaking next after Dr Kissinger, Senator Mushahid Hussain, representing Pakistan, said that this historic breakthrough in China-US relations became possible due to the ‘indispensable role of Pakistan. Pakistan enjoyed the trust of both China and the United States, when then President, Richard Nixon, had tremendous affection and goodwill for Pakistan.
While peering in through the diplomatic history, one can logically argue that with the timely and befitting interventions of Pakistan’s diplomats in the situation of international conflicts, the peace trajectory evolved in diffusing the intensity of conflict –as evidenced from a multifaceted Pakistan’s role in lowering the conflict intensity in Muslim word—despite a conceptual delineation between ‘cold’ and ‘hot’ wars. In almost six key areas, the role of Pakistan peace diplomacy has been pivotal in both the Cold war and the post-Cold war periods.
1-Pakistan peace diplomacy in the Geneva accord: The year 1988 was a turning point in world politics. In this year a disastrous decade came to an end that caused much bloodshed and destruction in Afghanistan and threatened the security of Pakistan. Geneva Accord has a very significant role in changing the political scenario of the world. It is obvious that Pakistan’s international credibility boosted due to the Geneva accord and became an important mediator in the world affairs. Pakistan, Soviet Union, Afghanistan and the US were the participants of the Geneva accord in which Pakistan played key role in settling the terms to resolve the Afghan issue. After the Accord, many changes took place in the relations of Pakistan with other participants.
Pakistan successfully played a role during the Iran-Iraq war while it remained neutral in the Yemen conflict, Pakistan always sustained a diplomatic approach to diffuse tensions between Washington and Tehran
2- Pakistan peace diplomacy at the UN: Having joined the world body in September 1947, Pakistan attaches great importance to international co-operation through this organization. The country fully adheres to its pristine principles of promoting peace and prosperity, fighting hunger and disease, promoting literacy and helping nations in times of natural or man-made disasters. Its commitment to the UN system can be gauged from the fact that Pakistan has been elected seven times as a member of the Security Council and has been a leading contributor to UN peacekeeping contingents. Pakistani missions in New York and Geneva have been consistently active at the multilateral level.
3-Pakistan’s role in the OIC: Pakistan’s peace diplomacy remained proactive to use the OIC forum to resolve tensions among the Muslim states. Pakistan played a leading role in enabling the PLO to get observer status at the UN, and likewise, Islamabad used the OIC forum to echo the rights of Kashmiris. With Pakistan’s support, the OIC decided to appoint its own Contact Group on Kashmir. Pakistan successfully played a role during the Iran-Iraq war while it remained neutral in the Yemen conflict, Pakistan always sustained a diplomatic approach to diffuse tensions between Washington and Tehran. Pakistan also intermittently utilized peace diplomacy to diffuse tensions between Riyadh and Tehran.
4-The Afghan war & the Doha Peace Accord: It goes without saying that since 2001, the world has witnessed Pakistan’s proverbial role –in the WOT–harnessed by its proud military. The Doha Accord concluded in February last year, is the triumph for multilateral peace diplomacy. US Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin has praised Pakistan’s cooperation for peace in Afghanistan.
While concluding the Doha Peace Accord , Pakistan gave value to the vision of the Afghan Study Group (formed under the auspices of the US Congress) recommendation floated at the USIP that say that the blue print of the future Afghan state must be the reflection of—-an Afghan state that exercises sovereignty over its borders and internal affairs and governs in terms that reflect the popular will and self-determination of the Afghan citizenry while managing conflict peacefully through accountable civilian institutions. An Afghan state that supports and protects minorities, women’s rights, the democratic character of the state, and a free press but that could include Taliban figures. Therefore, Washington must avoid making any lull in the Afghan peace process.
5-The current US-China tensions & Pakistan’s stance: Like in the past, today, Pakistan advocated for peaceful relations between Beijing and Washington. A time-tested Pakistan-China friendship notwithstanding, Pakistan maintains the urge of rebalancing its relations with both Washington and Beijing. Rather, Pakistan suggests a restraint strategy to settle the US-China differences over the trade deal, global warming, human rights, the South China Sea, Taiwan and the Hong Kong issues “We are not in the business of picking sides. From our prospective, the U.S. is a critical strategic partner. We depend on the U.S. a lot, the U.S. depends on us a lot,” Dr Moeed Yusuf Pakistan’s NSA recently told the Atlantic Council think tank. In the ongoing race for global powers’ competition, Islamabad remains highly indifferent.
6-The urge of South Asian peace resolution: Today, the South Asian leadership has expressed a bilateral desire for promoting peaceful relations between India and Pakistan. Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has stressed the imperative of peace negotiations after the militaries of both countries last month announced to honour the 2003 ceasefire agreement along the LoC, a disputed border in Kashmir. The PM Imran Khan while responding Modi’s good will letter of March 23rd said, “We are convinced that durable peace and stability in South Asia is contingent upon resolving all outstanding issues between India and Pakistan in particular the Jammu and Kashmir dispute’’.
New Delhi needs to revoke or annul Modi’s unjust, illegal and immoral initiative of August 5 2019– altering the erstwhile status quo in Kashmir. For the sake of regional peace and prosperity, the Modi administration must sit on the dialogue table with Pakistan to discuss the modus vivendi regarding the Kashmir conflict resolution.
The writer is an independent ‘IR’ researcher and international law analyst based in Pakistan