FOREIGN POLICY OF
PAKISTAN
FOREIGN policy is the external aspect of national policy. It covers the whole
gamut of global, regional and neighborhood developments, movements and
strategies.
Former Foreign secretary, Shamshad Ahmad:
“Foreign policy is a reflection of country’s interior”
(A chaotic country cannot exercise a formidable foreign policy.)
PAKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY SEEKS
TO PROTECT, PROMOTE AND ADVANCE
PAKISTAN’S NATIONAL INTERESTS IN
THE EXTERNAL DOMAIN.
Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Founder of Pakistan and its first
Governor General, in a broadcast talk to the people of the USA in February 1948,
outlined the following goals of Pakistan’s foreign policy:
“Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all the nations of the
world. We do not cherish aggressive designs against any country or nation. We
believe in the principle of honesty and fair play in national and international dealings
and are prepared to make our utmost contribution to the promotion of peace and
prosperity among the nations of the world. Pakistan will never be found lacking in
extending its material and moral support to the oppressed and suppressed peoples of
the world, and in upholding the principles of the United Nations Charter.”
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF
FOREIGN POLICY
The Constitution of Pakistan also lays down guidelines for the conduct of foreign
policy of the country. Article 40 of the constitution provides that:
“The State shall endeavor to preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among
Muslim countries based on Islamic unity, support the common interests of the
peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, promote international peace and security,
foster goodwill and friendly relations among all nations and encourage the
settlement of international disputes by peaceful means.”
GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF
FOREIGN POLICY
The foreign policy of Pakistan seeks to promote the internationally recognized norms of
interstate relations, i.e. respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States, non-
interference in the internal affairs of other State; non-aggression and peaceful settlement
of disputes.
The foreign policy of Pakistan is primarily directed to the pursuit of national goals of
seeking peace and stability through international cooperation.
Special emphasis is laid on economic diplomacy to take advantages offered by the
process of globalization as also to face challenges of the 21st century.
Our foreign policy is also geared to project the image of the country as a dynamic and
moderate society.
Pakistan has therefore always sought to develop friendly and cordial relations with all
countries of the world.
FOREIGN POLICY OBJECTIVES
In light of the guiding principles laid down by the founding fathers and the constitution as
also aspirations of the people of Pakistan, the objectives of foreign policy can be
summarized as under:
– Promotion of Pakistan as a dynamic, progressive, moderate, and democratic Islamic
country.
– Developing friendly relations with all countries of the world, especially major powers and
immediate neighbors.
– Safeguarding national security and geo-strategic interests, including Kashmir.
– Consolidating our commercial and economic cooperation with international community.
– Safeguarding the interests of Pakistani Diaspora abroad.
– Ensuring optimal utilization of national resources for regional and international
cooperation.
CONTEMPORARY CONTOURS OF FOREIGN
POLICY PAKISTAN
From geo-strategic to a geo-economic
In Islamabad Security Dialogue, Pakistan’s civil and military leadership announced a new vision for the
country.
Pakistan needed a paradigm shift in its policy to transform Pakistan from geo-strategic to a geo-
economic hub. There was consensus that Pakistan needed to leverage its strategic location for
economic gains
A foreign-policy shift from “geopolitics to geoeconomics” : to strengthen ties with its South and Central
Asian neighbors to foster more trade and investment.
The shift is likely fueled by two motivations.
One is to bring ballast to Pakistan’s economy by creating more markets and trade partners and by reducing
the regional tensions that distract the country from a greater focus on economic development.
The other motivation is to improve its global image by demonstrating that it’s a responsible neighbor.
Developments in this regard:
Pakistan secured a border cease-fire with New Delhi, its biggest rival, reducing tensions that
nearly led to war in 2019.
Relations with Dhaka, fraught since a brutal conflict led to Bangladesh’s independence in
1971, have seen improvements. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan held a call with his
counterpart Sheikh Hasina last summer, and the two have subsequently exchanged letters.
PM also visited Sri Lanka this year to enhance commercial relations with Colombo, with
which Pakistan enjoys strong security ties.
Pakistan is deepening engagement in Central Asia, a region Pakistan views as highly strategic
because of its energy assets.
Micheal kugleman: “Pakistan enjoys a key advantage in Central Asia: The region’s two top
power brokers are Pakistan’s ally China and its increasingly close friend Russia.”
In February 2021, Pakistan inked an accord with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan for a trans-
Afghan railroad.
Pakistan and Uzbekistan on July 15,2021 pledged to expand multifaceted bilateral cooperation
to all areas of mutual interest
In July 2021, it reached an agreement with Afghanistan, and the United States focused on
stability and connectivity.
Pakistan has also showcased its regional convening power. In February, its navy hosted a five-
day exercise in the Arabian Sea with 45 countries from the region and beyond.
Prime Minister Imran Khan’s two-day official visit to Uzbekistan where they jointly hosted
Uzbekistan-Pakistan Business Forum on ‘Central and South Asia 2021: Regional Connectivity
Challenges and Opportunities’, in the Uzbek capital.
PM: “Pakistan has immense potential to connect Central Asia with the rest of the world and
become a hub of trade,”.
Several MoUs and agreements were signed to strengthen cooperation between the two sides in
diverse areas.
These include a protocol on exchange of pre-arrival information on goods moved across the
state border, an agreement on transit trade, cooperation in the field of military education and
an agreement on simplification of visa procedures for businessmen and tourist groups.
An MoU between Pakistan’s Foreign Service Academy and the University of World
Economy and Diplomacy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan was also signed, in
addition to a cultural exchange programme 2021-2026 and an MoU on tourism.
KEY CHALLENGES OF
PAKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY
DOMESTIC POLITICO-ECONOMIC &
SECURITY CONSTRAINTS LEADING TO
REACTIVE FOREIGN POLICY
To come out of the reactive foreign policy instance the nation has to break the
begging bowl in the first place. The country’s economy is mortgaged with those who
represent international finance capital and their local associates.
While foreign debts have risen to unprecedented levels, borrowings have no doubt
been noticeably diversified with China emerging as the largest single lender.
Beijing also provides a lion’s share in inflows of direct foreign investment.
Pakistan is heavily dependent on traditional western sources for credit as well as
markets for export of its merchandise, workers’ remittances etc. There can be no
disagreement over the fact that Pakistan needs to build on these relations through astute
diplomacy on the basis of equality, avoiding counterproductive confrontation.
the performance of state-owned enterprises: A World Bank study ‘Hidden Debt:
Solutions to Avert the Next Financial crises in South Asia’ says: The sector
(in Pakistan) shows a tendency towards rapidly declining profitability in recent years,
with its net income dropping at an average annual rate of 57per cent from 2014-2017.
The research report noted that the total liabilities of state-owned enterprises (SOEs),
that made a loss in three out of the past five years, have been at about eight to 12pc
of the GDP, several times more than the country’s public spending on education in
2019-20.
Head of Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS):
This time Pakistan must opt for economic development as other states do in the
world,” “Pakistan would decide alliances in accordance with its economic benefit if
the objective is pursuing its geo-economic policies.”
The sovereignty is the right of a nation’s people to shape their destiny as they deem
fit and is safeguarded by sovereign parliament drawing strength from a democratic
culture where rights and responsibilities are widely dispersed
SECURITY SITUATION & PAKISTAN’S
REGIONAL DIPLOMACY DILEMMA
Michael Kugelman:
Islamabad wants to shift its focus to trade and investment, but challenges loom.
Pakistan is experiencing challenges with two different but significant relationships. An attack in northwestern
Pakistan last week that killed nine Chinese nationals—one of the deadliest ever on Chinese targets in Pakistan—
prompted unusually strongly worded statements of concern from Beijing.
While the relationship remains strong, long-standing Chinese anxieties about security in Pakistan are becoming an
irritant—especially with the two main perpetrators of attacks on Chinese targets in Pakistan,
violent separatist groups and the Pakistani Taliban, enjoying a resurgence.
Also Impacting energy diplomacy with the region
THE DIPLOMATIC OBSTACLES
1. Normalizing relation with India:
India despite recent tensions with some neighbors, remains South Asia’s
undisputed heavyweight. Witness its leadership on regional pandemic responses and
its spearheading of broader regional cooperation through groupings like Bimstec.
After initial successes such as the LoC truce and lowering of rhetoric, the situation
is now back to square one.
Pakistan publicly held India responsible for the Lahore attack, and India admitted it
made sure Pakistan remained on the FATF ‘grey list’. All this means that
backchannels failed to make any headway.
Kashmir settlement also requires a strong working relationship with India.
Foreign policy goal is settlement of Kashmir dispute.
Accordingly, the search for a broader and long-term strategy for a Kashmir settlement
is inevitable. Any settlement will ultimately entail a principled compromise and it
must pass the test of acceptability to the people of Kashmir. Until that time, the
United Nations resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir must be the basis of Pakistan’s
stand if it is to remain a relevant party to a settlement process.
This requires developing a strong working relationship with India, including a
comprehensive and structured dialogue that addresses the core concerns of both
countries.
This must include the management of nuclear threats. On this basis, a whole range of
revived and new confidence and security building measures (CSBMs) can provide a
good start,
2. Navigating uncertainty in Afghanistan
Uncertainty in Afghanistan is the prime issue of Pakistan’s foreign policy.
With the US having withdrawn its forces, the Taliban are claiming to have more than 80
per cent of the country under control already.
While it is difficult at the moment to pick which scenario is more likely, stability in the
near-term appears elusive in nearly all of them.
A more likely scenario is the Taliban using the parts of Afghanistan under their control
as a bargaining chip in talks with Kabul. The failure of these talks, however, will mean
regional uncertainty will continue for the next few years at least;
uncertainty that will pose a serious threat Pakistan’s internal security given how both
Baloch and TTP insurgents have strong bases in Afghanistan’s bordering areas.
Instability in Afghanistan will also continue hold back already delayed collaborative
projects with Central Asian nations like the TAPI pipeline or CASA-1000.
Also instability in Afghanistan stands in the way of Pakistan’s geo-economic
ambitions as well as in gateway to Central Asia.
4. MANAGING TROUBLED
RELATIONS WITH USA:
The US is also not willing to expand cooperation with Pakistan beyond Afghanistan.
It has felt the impact of US dissatisfaction with a reduction in economic assistance and security
related aid
Many months have passed yet President Joe Biden has not spoken to PM Imran.
Despite Pakistan’s centrality to the Afghan issue, the US Secretary of State is visiting India.
It is not a strange coincidence that policymaking both in the US and Pakistan is constrained by
political divisiveness. In a political memo, Alexander Burns recently wrote in New York Times
that “US outlook brightens, yet politics won’t budge”, adding that “Our system…isn’t
very responsive to the real changes in the real world”.
It is the interest of both sides to shake off historical legacies and cooperate in areas where their
interests converge.
5. A battle of ‘new world orders’
US - China : the world`s most critical bilateral relationship defines contours of new world
order
US President Joe Biden has dubbed his country’s great power competition with China a
‘global ideological fight between democracy and autocracy’. His language signified the
emergence of a new divided world.
The latest US intelligence report casts China as America`s top national security threat.
Against this backdrop, the China-led OBOR appears to contest the US-led ‘new world order’
by providing alternative strategic routes to the ones that US controls.
Simultaneously, China’s rapid military modernisation, especially in terms of naval power
projection, threatens America’s singular dominance of the seas.
Beijing’s large-scale investment in various regions, likewise, has appeared as a challenge to
US financial might
BALANCING TIES AMID THE
STRANGE, GREAT RIVALRY
PM Imran khan referred to US-China conflict in the interview as The “strange, great rivalry”
It points to the emerging Build Back Better World (B3W) scheme that has recently been floated by the
G7 bloc of industrialised Western states (and Japan). As American officials have said on record, the
plan is designed to counter the Belt and Road Initiative, which CPEC is a part of.
The fact is that Pakistan’s relations with China are indeed long-standing, and cannot be sacrificed at the
altar of expediency. Beijing has come to this country’s aid at difficult times, and Pakistan values this
commitment — although a position of unqualified support to any country merits review.
Having said that, Pkaistan needs
to have cordial ties with the US and to move beyond a transactional relationship that has existed since
the Cold War. Therefore, the message to Washington must be clear: we want close relations with you,
but Pakistan will not become a party to any rivalries designed to isolate its traditional allies.
In this regard, renowned economist and NUST dean Dr Ashfaque Hasan
Khan stressed that sea routes were functional and trade and business were continuing
even amid tensions in the South China Sea. Similarly, Pakistan can pursue its
economic ambitions and policy shift even if international differences continue
6. FATF enigma:
Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed Pakistan’s name on “jurisdictions with
strategic deficiencies” known as grey list of FATF.
Pakistan’s name on FATF list is not new, it was there in 2008, 2012 to 2015 (Karim and
Hayat 2018).
Recently, FATF has placed Pakistan’s name on grey list, because of its structural
deficiencies on the count of weak non-compliance on money laundering and terrorism
related financing.
The placement of Pakistan’s name on grey list is far more political than financial in
nature. It has been viewed as an attempt of coercion by the United States and now India
being a key influencer at the FATF Asia and the Pacific to exert pressure on Pakistan to
“do more” on terrorism related matters to protect its objectives.
Being placed on FATF watch list has implications for international image of Pakistan.
For example; international financial and regulatory institutions may adopt some hard
rules and checklists to avoid wary of transactions with Pakistan
PROSPECTS AND WAY
FORWARD FOR PAKISTAN
ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY –
EMERGING LEEWAY OF
PAKISTAN’S FOREIGN POLICY
BRI and CPEC
REVAMPING STATECRAFT:
SELF HELP AS MEANS TO
PROACTIVE FOREIGN POLICY
It is only economic self-reliance that would provide Pakistan the political muscle to
achieve pragmatic foreign policy
Former Foreign secretary, Shamshad Ahmad:
“Foreign policy is a reflection of country’s interior”
(A chaotic country cannot exercise a formidable foreign policy.)
THE PROSPECT OF REGIONAL
CONNECTIVITY
The Eurasian region, known as the “World Island” in Sir Halford Mackinder’s theory of Heartland, holds
great significance for regional integration and progress. It is the biggest landmass in the world, comprising
75 percent of the world’s population and about three-fourths of the world’s known energy resources.
Enhanced regional connectivity plays an important role in supporting economic growth and development.
Trade, transport, movement of people, the flow of ideas, and many other aspects of political, cultural,
economic, and strategic cooperation and integration can provide a sharp counterbalance to the overall
slowdown of the global economy.
Just like Central Asia, South Asia is also very much amenable to regional integration, given its rich
availability of human resources and services dynamism. Since, South Asia is facing multiple challenges
such as poverty, lack of infrastructure, human development, etc., this makes the idea of regional
connectivity with the Central Asian Republics, for enhanced sustainable development, even more favorable.
STABILIZING ROLE IN
AFGHANISTAN AND
IMPROVEMENT OF TIES WITH
INDIA
prominent strategist and analyst Dr Rifaat Hussain said Pakistan must adopt a two-
pronged strategy in order to see its foreign policy ambitions to fruition:
“The first is to play a role in stabilising Afghanistan and the second, to secure routes
to Central Asia.”
Experts also advised efforts to restore SAARC and improve ties with India as
prolonged distrust has kept regional development and integration from reaching its
true potential.
CONVERGENCE WITH RUSSIA AND THE
SHANGHAI COOPERATION
ORGANIZATION: THE TIDES OF POWER
NEUTRALITY AND
PRAGMATISM THROUGH
PARLIAMENTARY CONSENSUS
Pakistan must maintain neutrality and be guided by pragmatism, principles and
national interest.
For example, Pakistan did the right thing by not getting involved in the Yemen
imbroglio in 2015.
At that juncture, the collective wisdom of parliament had saved Pakistan from
getting trapped in another quagmire.
Therefore, it should be through the democratic process that all future foreign policy
questions are settled in a wise and judicious manner.
POSSIBLE IRAN US
RAPPROACHMENT &
EXPANDING IRAN-CHINA
RELATIONS
Iran nuclear deal will generate dividends for Pakistan (Iran Pakistan gas pipeline,
Iran – Pakistan bilateral and regional co-operation)
China and Iran entering into a 25-year strategic partnership to uplift Iran’s economy
and infrastructure.
Iran - China strike $400 billion agreement
