ISLAMABAD: In the six months since Prime Minister Imran Khan assumed office, his freshly-elected government has gone to great lengths to rekindle Pakistan’s historic friendship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, thereby taking its political, economic, and defense relations to a brand new level.
Khan managed to bolster the country’s relations with the United Arab Emirates, too, which in turn has assured political and financial support to Pakistan.
“The relations with the Kingdom and the UAE have always been cordial. There was a dip in relations with the UAE in the past but that is now being amended,” Javed Hafeez, a retired career diplomat, told Arab News.
Those relations, he said, have evolved and today have greater potential. “Defense production, agricultural investments, and petrochemicals are some areas where the engagements are increasing and with CPEC in the pipeline, there will be huge exports of Gulf oil via Pakistan to China”.
However, the renewed ties with both the Gulf countries have also marked a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s foreign policy which, until now, depended heavily on the west. Khan made two trips to Saudi Arabia and one to the UAE after being elected to the prime minister’s office in August 2018.
On his invitation, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces made a brief visit to Islamabad on Sunday.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry claims that, in comparison, deposed ex-prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s policy had isolated the country. “He was not going out and not playing the role (we should have) in the Middle East” which undermined Pakistan’s significance and marginalized regional and international participation.
“Imran Khan’s policy is different. We want to play our role in the Middle East and therefore [the PM] has visited Saudi Arabia twice,” Chaudhry added.
In the hypothetical pages of Pakistan’s revised foreign policy, China is most important. With more than $60 billion invested in developing its flagship China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) under Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, experts believe the project would change the fortunes of the nuclear-armed South Asian nation of 208 million people. The project has also attracted investments from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.
The shift has already taken place, acclaimed author and geopolitical analyst, Imtiaz Gul, said. “It’s clear that Pakistan has traded the US for China ever since Islamabad inked agreements with Beijing in regards to CPEC,” he said, adding that Washington is cognizant of this fact which pushed President Donald Trump to reach out to Khan to negotiate the US’ exit from Afghanistan by engaging the Taliban.
Hafeez disagreed with Gul, reasoning that there is no substitute “to our relationship with the west as it’s of a different nature”. He listed examples of western countries with a large number of Pakistani expatriates that are also its major trading partners — with bigger markets, and in addition to being arms producers – vital relations which Pakistan cannot afford to lose.
The cold war era has gone so “it’s not a question of the Gulf, China or the US but all three together.” “You can keep relations with Russia, China, and with the US at the same time. Before that it was not possible”, Hafeez said.
With PM Khan at helm, Middle East becomes key component to Pakistan’s foreign policy
With PM Khan at helm, Middle East becomes key component to Pakistan’s foreign policy
- Islamabad positioning itself politically and economically on the global front, experts say
- The shift has pushed Washington to seek assistance from Islamabad to negotiate peaceful military exit from Afghanistan
China’s mediation eases fighting between Pakistan, Afghanistan — sources
- China’s envoy shuttles between Pakistan and Afghanistan to mediate in conflict
- Gulf countries that mediated in the past embroiled in Middle East conflict
ISLAMABAD/BEIJING: Chinese mediation efforts, including a message from President Xi Jinping, have helped ease the worst fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, three Pakistani government officials said.
The officials said a meeting between the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late last month included a message from Xi to cease hostilities.
Neither side has reported any Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan in recent days and ground fighting along the 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border has tapered off, although daily clashes continue to be reported.
China has said it is in contact with both countries about ending hostilities but Mosharraf Zaidi, a spokesman for Sharif who has previously said there would not be any talks with the Taliban, did not respond to questions about Beijing’s efforts.
Pakistani security officials have said the military campaign will continue until desired goals were achieved, which was to prevent militant attacks in Pakistan launched from Afghan soil.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry and military did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Islamabad launched air strikes on Afghanistan on February 26, saying the Taliban were providing a safe haven to militants carrying out attacks in Pakistan. Kabul denies the charge and says militancy in Pakistan is an internal problem.
The Chinese efforts came as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye, who hosted talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan during previous clashes in October, have been embroiled in the war in the Middle East following the US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
“China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Affairs is currently shuttling between the two countries to mediate, while Chinese embassies in both nations maintain close communication with the respective parties,” the Chinese foreign ministry told Reuters in an email.
“The most urgent task is to prevent the fighting from expanding and for the two countries to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible.”
The foreign ministry added that Foreign Minister Wang Yi held telephone talks with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Tuesday to discuss the conflict.
China’s ambassador to Kabul, Zhao Xing, and the special envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi this week, the Afghan foreign ministry said in a statement.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have said they inflicted heavy damage on the other in the conflict and killed hundreds of opposition troops, without providing evidence. Reuters has not been able to verify the reports.
Beijing, a longtime Pakistani ally, has invested heavily in mines and minerals in both nations.
The investments include over $65 billion in road, rail and other development projects in Pakistan, part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative to expand land and sea trade routes to Europe and Africa.
