Bedevilled by increasing hostility from India and (what can only be called) lackadaisical relations with Afghanistan, our perceptions about good neighbourliness are clouded so badly that we choose to think all beyond our borders as unworthy of a decent interaction.
China may have been an exception for long, but recent geo-politics has made that "all-weather friend" also cautious in its dealings with fickle friends like Pakistan, while cultivating a sense of normalcy in its entente with countries on the periphery, who have been noted for their hostility to China, Pakistan or both in the past.
Where does that leave us, is the question! Decades of toeing the line of US dictates and antagonising all our own neighbours at one time or the other has left us friendless. Even Arab countries, once our staunchest supporters and financial backers have come to regard Pakistan - with its ever present begging bowl - with open or barely concealed distaste, if not down right snub or abhorrence.
And, yet, our stalwarts of various political hues never tire of taking plane-loads of sycophants to visit Saudi Arabia, Libya, UAE or Qatar, with a begging bowl in each of their hands, requesting doles and hand-outs. More often than not, they are sent back empty-handed or with vague promises of future aid.
The thick-skinned politicians claim that as a remarkable achievement of theirs, secure in the belief that their own fortunes, stashed away in foreign banks or in the shape of valuable real estate in posh localities of the west, are not to be touched, since there is no one who can dare ask them to repatriate their funds, amassed after looting the populace and/or the treasury. It is in this milieu that our relationships with our next door neighbour -having common land or sea borders - are to be seen and evaluated.
On the East there is India, with a 63 years old hostility record - not yet reconciled to our existence as an independent sovereign state, despite cutting it in half in 1971. Their animosity and in-born hatred of Pakistan knows no bounds and needs no repetition.
On the North-east, we have our all-weather friend - China, who, while steadfast in their friendship and unwavered support of Pakistan, are sometimes irked by the shenanigans of some fool-hardly people in Pakistan, who have subjected a large number of experts from China, who came to help us, to kidnap for ransom, abuse and sometimes murder, to the abiding shame of all right-thinking people.
And yet, we never tire of begging them for all kinds of aid and support all the time. It is to the Chinese credit that their leadership, however annoyed by certain Pakistan elements, have kept their facade of friendship intact, at a great cost to themselves. In the north-west we have Afghanistan - always a dicey proposition! When Pakistan came into being and her entry into the UNO membership was voted on, Afghanistan's was the only negative voice!
They are so steeped in their hostility to Pakistan (a legacy of the British rule that kept them at bay) and marked tilt towards India, (except for a brief period during Taliban rule over their country) that their best professions of brotherhood and friendship with Pakistan, have always to be taken with a grain of salt. Then there is Iran in the West, and the intricacies of our relationships with that country will be dealt with later on.
The fifth and a remote neighbour otherwise separated by sea, is UAE. There are close ties with them, but any traveller to that country can feel the disdain they express towards Pakistan, mainly due to the criminal activities of a certain number of individuals who have brought a bad name to Pakistanis in UAE, and in fact, around the globe, so much so that the green Passport of Pakistan is like a red rag to the bull, arousing hostility and contempt which they can barely conceal, and manifest it in the most degrading ways.
Pakistani travellers are subjected on arrival at their destination to indignities too painful to mention. And despite that, UAE (and in particular Dubai) is a lure that few fortune-seekers can resist, and throng each flight to that destination in a way that can only be described as pathetic. To a much lesser degree that is true of our sixth neighbour, the Sultanate of Oman as well. Now we revert to the real purpose of this exercise - our dealing with Iran and Iranians. Before proceeding further, it may not be remiss to relate some facts and figures about Iran as well as personal impressions gathered in my half-a century of exposure to Iranian society.
Complexities of our relations with Iran: With historical ties going back thousands of years, and the political, social, religious and cultural vicissitudes over the period, it is difficult to encapsulate it in a few words and a detailed review in necessary.
(To be continued)
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