ISLAMABAD: Foreign policy experts on Wednesday stressed the need for diversifying and reorienting the multi-faceted Pakistan-US ties and asserted that the relationship has always been seen through the security prism that has precluded both countries from assigning substantive meaning to their bilateral relations.
The leading foreign policy experts, former diplomats and academics were speaking at the public hearing, conducted by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on “Pak-US ties”.
They regretted that the Pakistan-US relationship has always been seen through the security prism that has precluded both countries from assigning substantive meaning to their bilateral relations.
Chaired by Chairman Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs MNA Mohsin Dawar, security and foreign policy expert Dr Ayesha Siddiqa, analyst Dr Rabia Akhtar, former foreign secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and others including Dr Ahmed Ijaz Malik, and Senior Fellow and Director South Asia at the Stimson Centre Elizabeth Threlkeld spoke at length on the subject.
They emphasized that Pakistan should establish friendly ties with the United States, while keeping its own interests in perspective. They noted that Pakistan cannot afford to “de-prioritize” its ties with the United States as the latter is still a dominant military and economic power despite “talks of America’s decline”.
However, going forward, it should avoid becoming part of America’s proxy wars in the region. Highlighting the United States’ pivot to India as a strategic partner to contain China, the experts underlined its implications for Pakistan’s strategic calculus.
While highlighting that China has never pressurised Pakistan to pick sides between itself and the United States, the experts urged that Pakistan should continue to balance its relationship with China and the United States and avoid getting entangled in the “bloc politics” of the great powers.
They noted that, for Pakistan, deepening bilateral ties with China should not mean weakening Pakistan’s relationship with the United States. They stressed that the future of a vibrant Pakistan-US bilateral relationship was contingent upon Pakistan capitalizing on her own economic potential and in-house order.
The experts noted that Pakistan should broaden its ties with the United States in the non-security realm as there are multiple common challenges that both countries face, and cooperation would be in the mutual interest of both.
The experts emphasized that there is a need to broaden the bilateral ties between Pakistan and the United States, which have been historically looked at largely through the security lens.
They particularly highlighted the need to attract American investment in Special Technology Zones, as well as, other areas that can help boost Pakistan’s exports. Some experts noted that the United States has “de-prioritised” Pakistan in the aftermath of its withdrawal from Afghanistan, and it now views its relationship with Pakistan through the lens of its relationship with India and China.
The experts underlined that Pakistan should devise a clear regional focus and deepen regional cooperation as a stepping stone to improve ties with the great powers.
In his remarks, Chairman of the Committee Mohsin Dawar stated that historically Pakistan’s relationship with the United States has been transactional and lamented that in pursuing a policy of extracting “geopolitical rent”, the people of Pakistan paid a heavy price.
Alluding to the war in Afghanistan and subsequent political instability, Dawar noted that America’s ill-conceived wars in the region and Pakistan’s flawed Afghan policy have resulted in chaos and lingering instability that spread Jihadism and extremism in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He emphasized that there is a need to strengthen parliament and make it a key forum for foreign policymaking in Pakistan. He noted that the purpose of the public hearings is to make the people of Pakistan stakeholders in foreign policy decision-making in the country.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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