Pakistan needs to have friendly relations with its neighbours

Changing regional scenario

Pakistan needs to have friendly relations with its neighbours to overcome the dire economic and security challenges it faces. As things stand Islamabad’s relations with all the countries sharing borders with it, with the exception of China, are less than friendly. Islamabad is therefore required to allocate a big chunk of its budget on defence at the expense of education, health and social development. India is still considered by the army as an existential threat. Pakistan continues to host millions of Afghan refugees and many more are likely to arrive in days to come in case of a bloody civil war in the neighbouring country. The Karzai government however looked at Pakistan for years with suspicion. Tehran continues to complain that sectarian terrorists use Pakistan’s territory to launch attacks inside Iran. What is needed is to have cordial relations with all these countries. This would result in economic cooperation and increase in mutual trade, bringing prosperity to all. With the threshold of external threat coming down this would also lead to a significant reduction in defence expenditure. Cultivation of mutual confidence and friendly relations will enable these countries to jointly curb the menace of terrorism.

Major changes are taking place in the region that can have consequences for Pakistan. The Karzai era is over and Afghanistan is going to have a new administration. Is Islamabad prepared to deal with the changed situation with fresh solutions for old disputes?

The six-week long electoral process has begun in India. There is a strong likelihood of BJP coming to power after a decade. The Hindu nationalist party has made it known that it would react more strongly to border incidents and acts of terrorism. The old demands for a speedy punishment for Mumbai attack masterminds and for MFN status for India are likely to increase. Does the government have any out of the box solutions for the disputes that continue to mar ties between the two neighbours?

Pak-Iran relations which were already less than ideal further deteriorated after Pakistan’s policy shift on Syria and the presumed deal to sell arms, including shoulder fired anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles. The invitation by Iranian President to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for Tehran visit has been accepted. Will he carry new ideas for removing Iranian complaints?

Stock responses to the resolution of differences have not succeeded in the past nor is there any hope of their success in the future. The government must not be short of options. It is not enough to maintain, as Sartaj Aziz does, that doors cannot be closed to negotiation whichever government comes in India. What is required is to work out multiple options to win over the three neigbours with whom we have serious differences.