The international and Indian media have repeatedly said that the foreign policy of Pakistan will always be manoeuvred by the country’s army. It is true that the military establishment in the country has an important role to play. However, there is a need for civilians to guide the country’s foreign policy.
Whenever a new prime minister takes charge, he always thinks of how much support he will receive and how he will achieve his national objectives. Imran Khan is about to take charge, but given the issues that Pakistan is facing I believe that its foreign policy will not change. Imran Khan is not an extremist but a nationalist. However, his image has been twisted by the political parties in Pakistan, as well as in India too. There is a good chance that Imran Khan’s government will bring economic stability to Pakistan as the youth has supported him by giving him their mandate.
Khan has repeatedly said that Pakistan has been used a weapon by the west especially during the so-called War on Terror. However, now that he is coming in power, it would be interesting that how he deals with the Pakistan being on the FATF grey list, and to remove the name of his country from the list he has to renew ties with the US. Khan has not discussed as what he plans to do about the militia groups that the US government wants to get rid of.
If Khan wants to improve the economic stability of the country even for that he needs to improve on the foreign policy. In Pakistan, the foreign policy has too many stakeholders, i.e. the civil and military. The fundamental factor for making an effective foreign policy is that the country has to cooperate and make better relations with other nations.
Media outlets are now reporting that Khan will change his previous political stances after he takes oath. Pakistan’s narrative has to change. Pakistan is a security-centric state and such states have a defence complex. It is this defence complex that has been building all the policies for the country after the 9/11 attack. Khan’s statement in favour of Afghanistan can break India’s strategy in the region. There is a symbolic classification. If Khan continues his relationship with China this will be another signal for the US.
President Mamnoon Hussain, while speaking in a session of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit at Qingdao, remarked that he hopes that the general elections 2018 bring further economic stability in Pakistan. He also said that Pakistan has witnessed valuable improvements in services and the agricultural sector, adding that China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) has further strengthened Pakistan’s economy. Speaking about relations with Afghanistan, he remarked: “peace and stability in Afghanistan is our common objective and Pakistan is playing its due role in this regard.” Pakistan and Afghanistan are working on a comprehensive strategy on a bilateral basis to establish peace in Afghanistan, he said, adding that ceasefire in Afghanistan is a positive sign for regional peace.
Yesterday the Voice of America (VOA) a US based international radio broadcasting service, reported that some media houses had used a word “unpredictable” for Imran khan. Now it is Imran’s turn to show us what he has planned for Pakistan.
The only question is how he will balance Washington, Delhi and Beijing without going against the establishment’s vision for Pakistan’s foreign policy.
(The writer is a Srinagar-based freelance journalist, having a Diploma in Mass Communication & Journalism. presently a final year student at Department of Electrical Engineering IUST Campus Awantipora and can be reached at peerzadakhalid1545@gmail.com)
