Pakistan-Iran relations brought to center stage
Pakistani-Iranian relations have gone through various phases throughout the years. In 1947, Iran was the first country to recognize newly established Pakistan, and in 1979, the latter became the first nation to recognize the new government in Tehran. The shah of Iran was the first foreign head of state to visit Pakistan in 1950. The neighboring countries joined Western-sponsored defense treaties to stop the spread of socialism in Asia.
But the rise of sectarian violence in Pakistan in the 1980s, and Islamabad’s recognition of the Taliban government in Kabul, emerged as principal irritants in bilateral relations. While the US was the “Big Satan” for Iran, it courted Pakistan for a major covert operation against the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan.
Today, both Tehran and Islamabad have problematic relations with the US, and for quite different reasons. India, which had forged strong ties with Iran after 1979, has moved closer to the US and Israel. Meanwhile, the strategic lines have shifted in Asia, and both Iran and Pakistan have moved toward China and Russia.
Since 2008, the US has been coaxing India to play its role in containing an ascendant China. While the Indian response has been somewhat ambivalent, Tehran realizes that its relationship with New Delhi will undergo a qualitative change. While it will remain friendly, the economic component will be more prominent as opposed to a wider cooperation.
Post-1979 Iran has largely been viewed in Pakistan as an estranged friend that had to be pacified. With its perennial problems with India and recurrent irritants in dealings with the Afghan leadership, Pakistan can ill afford to have a hostile Iran, with which it shares a 700-km border that passes through a remote and sparsely populated area. Controlling smuggling and criminal elements on both sides has been a challenge for the two countries.
While Pakistan’s relations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been consistent, its ties with Iran have oscillated like a pendulum. But economic and geopolitical realities are injecting life into Pakistani-Iranian relations.
Javed Hafeez
Tehran has wanted Islamabad’s help all along to rein in the activities of proscribed outfits such as Jundallah. Pakistan has often extended vital cooperation against cross-border terrorism. This fact was gratefully acknowledged by Iran’s foreign minister during his recent visit to Pakistan. Conversely, he said Tehran had given Islamabad information about an Indian spy who operated from Chabahar, Iran, and was arrested by Pakistani authorities in 2016.
Iran has an energy surplus, while Pakistan is energy deficient. This led them to negotiate a gas import agreement via a pipeline extendable to India. It was a win-win proposition for both Iran and Pakistan, but ran into snags due to sanctions against the former. While Iran had built the pipeline on its side, no international consortium was willing to finance the Pakistani portion for fear of an adverse international response.
In an ill-advised move, and in order to score political points for its electorate, the Pakistan Peoples Party-led government, in its last days, signed an agreement with Tehran that included a penalty clause against any delay. This ambitious project has since been in limbo, but Iran wants to revive it.
In view of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its chain of energy-related projects, Pakistan will need more hydrocarbon imports. This would also brighten the economic prospects of Pakistani Balochistan, which has to be developed and brought into the national mainstream. Iran is enthusiastic about CPEC as it could enhance its energy exports to China.
Islamabad is allergic to Tehran’s growing bonhomie with New Delhi. This point was repeatedly raised by the Pakistani media with Iran’s foreign minister. His refrain was that Indian-Iranian relations are not against any country, and Iran will not allow its soil to be used against Pakistan.
While Pakistan’s relations with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have been consistent, its ties with Iran have oscillated like a pendulum. But economic and geopolitical realities are injecting life into Pakistani-Iranian relations.
— Javed Hafeez is a former Pakistani diplomat with much experience of the Middle East. He writes weekly columns in Pakistani and Gulf newspapers, and appears regularly on satellite TV channels as a defense and political analyst. Twitter: @hafiz_javed
