The very first tweet of 2018 by the USA’s President Donald Trump was related to Pakistan in which he said that ‘The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!’ This tweet is definitely an alarming signal towards Pakistan that the New Year will bring so many challenges to Pakistan especially in terms of its foreign policy. This tweet can be analyzed on levels which are manifold such as some analyst consider it just a publicity stunt by Trump because his presidency is becoming weaker day by day and its policies are either rejected or amended and he is just trying to win support by these kinds of statements. As interestingly the very next day, he warned Palestinians as well in the same way by saying that, ‘ It’s not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing but also many other countries, and others As an example, we pay the Palestinians hundreds of millions of dollars a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don’t even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel, We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, of the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them’. These threatening tweets show Mr. President’s wish to get global attraction and frustration over his declining popularity domestically as well as globally.
On the other hand, Trump’s tweet regarding Pakistan can be considered as a clear threat to Pakistan about the consequences it can have due to its growing cooperation with China especially in terms of Afghan Peace process as now it has become very obvious that USA has lost the war in Afghanistan. Whatever the conclusion one takes from this statement of Trump, one thing for sure is apparent that it is a tough time for Pakistan and 2018 is going to be a challenging year for Pakistan. Now Pakistan has to take many critical decisions regarding its foreign policy. Pakistan’s foreign policy has seen many visible changes in 2017 as in the case of Qatar issue and the paradigm shift towards Russia and Iran. This time Pakistan has to adopt some comprehensive policy towards Afghanistan. Afghanistan and Pakistan besides having common religion, ideology and culture are involved in the continuous blame game from many years.
Recently, China being a broker of peace dialogue between Afghanistan and Pakistan played very efficient role. The latest trilateral dialogue which held on December 26, 2017 in Beijing is a milestone in this regard. Stable Afghanistan is in the interest of both the states and is inevitable for the $47billion CPEC (China Pakistan Economic Corridor) project. Without stable Afghanistan, this project will remain just a dream. Moreover, in order to counter USA as well as India in Afghanistan, China and Pakistan have to cooperate as USA and India both are unhappy with this project and trying their best to create obstacles in the fulfillment of this project.
Unstable Afghanistan is becoming a source of growing tensions in the vulnerable south western province of Pakistan that is Balochistan. Pakistan is continuously condemning India internationally for its involvement in Balochistan and it has even given dossiers in United Nations in 2015 as well. The very famous KAO plan of India and the recent episode of the arrest of Indian Spy Kulbushan Jadhav in Balochistan who has accepted his involvement in Balochistan separatist activities in front of media are the arguments made by Pakistan in this regard. Without any doubt, whatever involvement India has in Balochistan, certainly, it is via Afghanistan firstly because of the porous borders Pak-Afghan borders and secondly, Indian strong footing in Afghan soil. Peace and stability in Balochistan is inevitable not only for Pakistan but for China as well due to CPEC because the central venture of CPEC is the development and working of Gwader port which is situated in Balochistan. In order to address the issue of Balochistan, Pakistan has to adopt a comprehensive policy to address the grievances of Baloch and try to fulfill their demand. Furthermore, Pakistan should avail this golden opportunity provided by China and use soft power to address the grievances of Afghans in order to achieve stability in Balochistan. The trust deficit and bitter relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan has provided India an opportunity to gain strong hold in Afghanistan and especially gained sympathies from Afghani people. Afghani people are more inclined towards India now which is not at all in favour of Pakistan. Due to geopolitical location as well as security situation, Pakistan cannot afford to have any serious contentions at its western borders.
It’s not difficult for Pakistan to regain the sympathies and the prior status in Afghanistan due to common culture, religion and the brotherly relations Afghans and the people of Khyber Pakhtoon Khua (bordering province of Pakistan) shares. On the other hand, China also needs to have some strong footing in Afghanistan in order to create balance of power in the region. It’s been observed through the analysis of the history of Afghanistan that hard power never works in Afghanistan and no one have ever been able to defeat vigorous Afghans. Hence, China has to utilise its soft power and maintain friendly relations with Afghanistan and for this purpose, it has to take help from Pakistan. Pakistan and China can collectively make an effort in this regard to establish good image of China and Pakistan in Afghanistan through various means such as introduction of Chinese radio or TV channels, scholarships for Afghan students and cultural exchange programs for Afghan students in China as well as in Pakistan in order to rebuild friendly and brotherly relations. Pakistan unlike India cannot invest in Afghanistan due to its poor economic conditions but still it can regain its status of a brother with the help and assistance of China.
As it’s said that be discreet with your kindness, it is not a good time to waste all the sacrifices which Pakistan has made since Afghan war of 1979. Pakistan hosted millions of Afghan refugees in Afghan war of 1979 as well as after the outbreak of War against Terrorism in 2001. But from last few years some of the harsh statements and policies of Pakistan has played significant role in generating grievances among Afghan refugees which in turn has proved beneficial for India. Now India has replaced Pakistan and Afghans are more inclined towards India. Moreover India is investing in Afghanistan and playing a significant role in its development. To deal with this, Pakistan needs to evaluate its policy regarding Afghan refugees issue and should formulate a friendly policy. Similarly, Afghanistan also needs to show some flexibility in its policy towards Pakistan and understand that Pakistan just like Afghanistan is also a poor victim of terrorism and is suffering in every aspect. This is a time for both the states to work together to defeat the menace of terrorism which is devastating the peace of both the states and is the biggest obstacle in development and prosperity. With the assistance from China, Pakistan and Afghanistan can work together to minimize the trust deficit and get desired outcomes. It will be a win-win situation not just for the three partners but also for the whole region.
