August 27, 2018

Snubbing the foreign policy that shapes internal affairs

located:	Pakistan, Afghanistan
editor:	Shadi Khan Saif

Having deep-rooted cultural ties with its immediate neighbours, Pakistan – a country of some 200 million inhabitants – has a lot to gain from a positive foreign policy on a regional level.

As the seasoned foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, takes charge of the newly elected government in Pakistan, the tone coming from Islamabad should be set right from the start for a more pragmatic regional approach that could help usher a new era for millions, not only in this South Asian country, but for many more in its neighbourhood, too.

The country is still reeling from two major foreign policy moves. The first took place in the late 1970s when the country became deeply engaged with the Afghan Jihad, which included the establishment of military training and propaganda facilities for the armed insurgents on its soil.  And, another blunder came in the shape of publically switching sides and becoming part of the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks in 2001, but privately engaging in a ‘double-game’.

Both these major policy decisions were taken by the military dictators. At the time, they justified their decisions to be in the ‘national interest’, but history has proved that Pakistan has paid, and in fact, is still paying the price of those blunders.

Residents in the northern Khyber Pakthunkhwa province and the tribal belt, in particular, are paying the sacrifices with lives and material due to the seeds of hatred and extremism sown here for foreign adventures of past times.

In conjunction, Pakistan has a one-sided transit arrangement with Afghanistan, which allows the latter to use its road infrastructure to export to India. But, India cannot use the same facility for trading with Afghanistan due to the discriminatory policies of Pakistan. And, to the east, Pakistan has a history of full-blown deadly wars with India. Of course, Pakistan alone cannot be blamed for all the worst.

But, a simple move by the newly elected Prime Minister, Imran Khan, to invite his longstanding friend, Navjot Singh Sidhu – an Indian politician, television personality and former cricketer – from across the border to his oath-taking ceremony, has sent all the right signals across.

South Asia, with its huge potential, remains a region that does not have a working arrangement among its nations. While its nations have worked against one another rather than with one another for decades. 

Someone has to take an initiative to change the course of history. With the sizeable mandate of the Pakistani youth, the new government in Islamabad is more than capable of taking the bold move of not overlooking a foreign policy that so deeply affects the internal affairs.