Challenges and Opportunities for Pakistan’s foreign policy (By: Iram

Naseer Ahmad)

By: Iram Naseer Ahmad

One of my preferred objects about International Relations (IR) is its vibrant landscape.
The World around us modifies persistently which holds policies in a state of fluctuation.
Therefore, the most vital responsibility of a policymaker in Pakistan’s foreign office
should be to perceive, feel, comprehend and counter to the vicissitudes that are taking place
across the World. The alteration itself ensues to be the most imperative part of the
dilemma. Because transformation adjusts previous philosophies, it makes new supermen
and villains; it retains fresh and adversative dynamisms in action and finally modification
may transform intimidations into prospects and new chances into dangers. As IR have
been advancing since the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), the behaviour, approaches and
possibility of foreign policy have also been shifting. In the age of globalisation, more and
more areas of global and regional connections today decrease within the realm of foreign
policy. Expressions like cultural diplomacy, defence diplomacy, digital diplomacy and
economic diplomacy are currently measured as part and parcel of foreign policy.

Furthermore, in the existing period countries belief on numerous approaches such as hard
power, soft power and smart power to attain foreign policy aims. Eventually, the drive and
job of a state’s foreign policy is to proficiently employ its collective asset to achieve desired
ends and avert succeeding pressures and to adjust in the inter-connected world, As the
British independent policy advisor Simon Anholt stated, “the central fact of the age we live
in is that every country, every market, every medium of communication, every natural
resource is connected”.

So, in what way is our world varying or has transformed over the past epoch? The world has
improved beyond our imagination. The origin of this variation lies in technology, its stomach
in policies with the mind in economics. Historically, from the wreckages of the Cold War and
the socialism of Mao Tse Tung, has surfaced a China, whose economic growth has occupied
the world by surprise and a model for developing states. A China directed by the thoughts of
Deng Xiaoping has outstripped Japan and Germany economically, stands at number two
today, and is expected to exceed the United States in the forthcoming decade or so. Against
this backdrop, in any argument on foreign policy, it needs to be considered that all states —
as realism proposes — are rational not emotional players. Two more points need to be
distinguished. Firstly, foreign policy is the replication of a country’s internal setting and
secondly, states foreign policy vestiges neither immobile nor inelastic. As the eminent
American realist policymaker Robert D Kaplan proclaims, “countries neither having
perpetual associates nor everlasting foes” goes by, the triumph of foreign policy, therefore,
varies on sagacity and in its close conformity with the grand stratagem, security policy and
domestic policy of a country. Consequently, foreign policy, exclusively piloted by a country’s
national interest, is recycled as an instrument by a given nation for dealing with the outside

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 Challenges and Opportunities for Pakistan’s foreign policy (By: Iram
Naseer Ahmad)

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In this framework, the search for international harmony continued a foundation of

Pakistan’s foreign policy as marked from the concept of Quaid and in the Article 40 of the
Constitution of Pakistan, whose objectives are very coherent. Like, firstly, the state shall
attempt to sanctuary and reinforce amicable relationships among Muslim republics
grounded on Islamic concord. Secondly, to provision the mutual benefits of the peoples of
Asia, Africa and Latin America, thirdly, to promote international peace and security,
fourthly, promote friendliness relations among all countries, lastly, to inspire the settlement
of international disputes by peaceful means and non-aggression. In this context, Pakistan
has always been an important associate of the global community when it appears to the
advancement and reinforcement of global amity. Pakistan has performed an important role
as a forefront state in ending the hazard of terrorism and extremism which has materialised
as the most disparaging risk to international peace in the current era. But the disastrous
terrorist episode of 9/11 was a serious brink in the foreign policy of Pakistan. In fact, “9/11
came as a shockwave”. As former President Pervez Musharraf himself revealed, the event
brought with it unparalleled challenges for Pakistan, which insisted to “absorb external
pressure.”

But on the flip side, there is good news to share, that the world around Pakistan has
changed much, in fact, is still fluctuating. With more players in the game, although the
environment around us is much more complex on the one side, but competitive on the other

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 Challenges and Opportunities for Pakistan’s foreign policy (By: Iram
Naseer Ahmad)

side. I do believe in modern period the foreign policy of Islamabad should be objective,
Pakistani policy makers should opt a new approach to avoid the past challenges and absorb
the new opportunities with fresh outlook. Now the World is demanding to contribute
positively from Pakistan as a state rather than to behave like a permanent liability on
Superpower’s shoulders. Consequently, it should be a gigantic job for foreign policy makers
in Pakistan particularly after the recent elections held on 25 July 2018, where electorate and
international community have a lot of hope from Pakistan that the slogan of “Change”
should be the actual change to operate in such a challenging international milieu. No doubt,
in the literature of IR, foreign policy of developing countries is the upshot of limitations and
openings and it rejoins differently as linked to the great powers. By contrast, political,
economic and military liabilities of feeble countries are anticipated to play a rationale role in
the planning of foreign policy because they cannot afford the pressure of great power in any
critical situations. In the changing settings, Pakistan should divorce its cost oriented realist
foreign policy and should adopt the idealist policy with a view of avoiding confrontation with
her neighbors, emerging states and the United States. Pakistan should try to make friends
than enemies in this age of connectivity. Pakistan should realise that an inflexible posture
will deliver a foundation for the whole structure of global compression which might affect to
smash the country’s national concern. This precludes the option of mature relationship with
the outside World in which Pakistan can safeguard its national values and national security
respecting the core principles of our foreign policy mentioned in the article 40 of the
constitution.

I conclude my words, recommending to current diplomats and foreign policy makers that
they should approach to opt soft policy but without any compromise on state sovereignty,
would not only significantly reduce the external pressure but also covered Pakistan’s
desperate economic needs by circumventing the country to become a potential prey of
international loneliness. As the pendulum of power is shifting from West to East, now is a
golden opportunity for statesmen of Pakistan to get maximum advantage from new
international structure but domestic settlement is the key to get foreign policy objectives in
the 21st Century.

The writer is PhD in History from University of the Punjab and expertise on Pakistan-China
Relations, Foreign Policy of Pakistan and International Relations.

Originally published in: Daily Nation

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