62. New Foreign Policy Tasks For Pakistan

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E|^^fe __^^^^l inherently weak coalition. National interests HUHMttHHH were compromised by adopting the line of least resistance. People are fed up with Pakistan having become a plaything of major powers and the World Bank and IMF. They want Pakistan to recover its lost self-respect. This would require not just cosmetic changes here and there in the status quo, but to develop new equations in our relations with the World Bank, IMF and regional countries of vital interest to Pakistan. It would entail re-orienting the approach towards the foreign policy issues and problems while avoiding 'activism' which can lead to confrontations. Pakistan had lost its standing so much that when the former Prime Minister last went to the States and stayed in Washington, number four ranking official of the Bank discussed with her the loan the Bank was asked to release to Pakistan and no high US official met her. This was the respect the World Bank and the American government had extended to the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Forget it that it was Benazir who happened to be the visitor. A slight shown to the Prime Minister of Pakistan is a slight to Pakistan. Nawaz Sharif government's objectives in foreign policy should be coexistence, prosperity and economic co-operation, and establishing an economic zone in this region, without ignoring security considerations, in accordance with his emphasis on economic recovery

of Pakistan. But the legacy of imbalance in our diplomacy and unrealistic expectations, which resulted from the dependency syndrome, must be given up a soon as possible. Benazir government's basic assumptions were: One, our economy must depend on foreign aid, World Bank and IMF loans; two, that we must seek the protective and dependent status of major powers, and they should act as judges between India and Pakistan. Nothing is wrong in seeking economic help, and world powers' diplomatic support in important matters, nor in this uniSuperpower world it is suggested that Pakistan should opt for confrontation with the US and the West, and ignores the role of international diplomacy, but what is under objection is the dependence syndrome like that of a drug addict on the drug which Pakistan developed under the two Benazir government. It was in seeking a saviour in foreign patrons that destroyed Pakistan's prestige. The second challenge to Nawaz ShariPs foreign policy would be how to attain economic self-reliance and retrieve our mortgaged economic sovereignty while maintaining cordiai relations with the World Bank and IMF and ruling out. a confrontation with them or other donor? Ipso facto, World Bank and IMF's roles, for whatever understandable reasons, and howsoever justified under the terms of their loans and charter, against independence of our action, internally in economic planning and in external policies. The question is: can we attain economic self-reliance to the extend that we can get out of the controls of conditionalities etc., and still retain the best of relations with these two vital institutions. If this is possible then we can retrieve the ability to pursue reasonably independent policies. One untapped source that can inject economic self-reliance can be repatriation of some of the foreign exchange earnings and deposits of the overseas Pakistanis and Pakistani industrialists and businessmen, who are estimated to have US S30 billion deposits abroad. Pakistanis are so rich in this respect that if, and there is big if, they transfer a small percentage of their foreign exchange to Pakistan and start investing in Pakistan, as Nawaz Sharif and Sartaj Aziz are trying to do, Pakistan can start becoming self-reliant. For this to happen, there is another big if» that is, if Pakistan has political stability. Through stable democracy this can happen. However, there are many ponderable. In any case, it is worth trying. This is a challenge for Nawaz Sharif and his economic wizard, Sartaj Aziz to meet and derive benefit from the financial resources of Pakistanis themselves. In addition, one has to be careful of a rearguard action by some hostile elements of all hues and colours. The third task of his foreign policy will be to develop a regional diplomacy, in the circle of our immediate neighbours in the262 Emporium Current Essays

West and the North, Iran, China, Russia, Central. Asia and the Gulf, and most importantly, in solving the current complicated situation in Afghanistan aimed at elimination of regional tensions and establish regional peace. This means to work on an entirely different agenda that Benazir had. In Benazir's uni-direction diplomacy, we concentrated only on being in the good graces of America, placing all our eggs in one basket, which was a grave error in two respect: one, we neglected the region a if it was of a marginal importance; and two, became isolated in the region. In tailoring our regional diplomacy according to American specification,we annoyed Iran and Russia, and created hostility in certain Afghan war lords. General Bab'ar's guided tour of Western and American envoys to Jalalabad confirmed the impressions that our regional diplomacy was in the interest of the Americans. What were the unstated reasons for this meddling and playing others' game in Afghanistan, would never be known. Perhaps, the Americans gave an impression that if we played this part, we might get the, F-16s the Pressler Amendment would be annulled, and our confiscated money and military spares would be returned. No such thing happened except that our military spares were returned to us under the Brown Amendment. It is obvious that no foreign power can be our saviour. America has been relied upon earlier and three times we were disappointed in our hour of need. This will be the third challenge for Mian Nawaz ShariPs foreign policy: To seek security more by diversification of the circle of our friends through bilateralism replacing miidirectionalism, not by ignoring America's importance, but to give importance to the regional considerations and interests also, by accepting the inevitability of reality of mutuality of the regional interests. For Pakistan the circle of vital interests would include India, China, Ira, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan. India is still a hostile neighbour whereas Iran has been our traditional good friend. Like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, China has been our tried and reliable friend. Friendship with China is to be based on co-existence and non-interference in internal affairs of the Third World countries. Here, as in the case of Russia, we have to keep in view the sensitivities of these countries on meddling in the affairs of their Muslim minorities. Nawaz Sharif had assured China and this score when he visited China during his first prime ministership. China also is to be given importance in purchase of arms by us. At present, the direction is towards the Western countries. Emporium Current Essays 263 With Iran, our relations during the Benazir government had sunk so low that it went on to hold thfe Afghanistan conference last year inviting India to it and giving us only two-'ddys' notice for participation which was declined. This, was a result of Iran'

misunderstanding over the Taliban's successes in Afghanistan. This started a trend of closeness between India and Iran over Central Asia and Afghanistan. When Benazir was ousted, Press reports indicated that Iran felt its relations with Pakistan would improve with her departure. Caretaker Foreign Minister Sahcbzada Yaqub, Khan was despatched to bring this chapter of misunderstanding to an end. Both Pakistan and Iran would haye to respect their mutual and national interest in the region, for example, Pakistan's strategic interests in Afghanistan in which Pakistan can cooperate with Iran, but not with any other power hostile to Pakistan. Similarly, Pakistan should understand Iran's sensitivity in the Persian Gulf over the presence of non-regional military presence. Pakistan should keep centcom at an arms length and not join any grouping which gives a semblance of encircling Iran, etc. The toughest fourth challenges to Nawaz Sharif would be to make peace in Afghanistan which may serve the interests of the Afghan people, and also satisfy Iran and Russia. But even in Pakistan's own interest peace in Afghanistan is necessary for creating an ope*n economic zone. Relations with Central Asia will not be a problem. The only small obstacle there is Russian misgivings on the so-called Islamic fundamentalism of the Taliban, but not a major problem for it had been quite successfully removed by President Leghari on his trip to Central Asia. Nawaz Sharif should revive his project of linking Pakistan with Central Asia through the highway he had planned earlier. Let this area of our immediate neighbour become a free economic zone linked with roads, having industrialists in Nawaz Sharif can do this job like no one else. Iran, Afghanistan, China and Central Asia linked in a free trade zone and economic, technological co-operation should be our aim. Nawaz ShariFs -economic diplomacy should start a new chapter in this region. At least a beginning in that direction should be made by him. Nawaz Sharif is offering dialogue with India, obviously for elimination of tensions in" India-Pakistan relations, or normalcy on the same footing as his economic diplomacy. Can Naw'az Sharif foreign policy accomplish it? As this is a very important item,,it will be dealt with, separately, in the next column.