Introduction:
No country today can think of a life
independent of other nations. Every country has to develop relations with other
countries so as to meet its requirements in economical, industrial and technological
fields. It is thus necessary for every country to formulate a sound foreign
policy. Pakistan is an important third world country, in its developmental
stage. It also has formulated her foreign policy keeping in mind its geography,
politics and economics.
Definition of Foreign Policy:
Foreign Policy can be defined as
Relations between sovereign states. It is a reflection of domestic politics and
an interaction among sovereign states. It indicates the principles and
preferences on which a country wants to establish relations with another
country.
Pakistan’s Foreign Policy:
Pakistan is an active and an important
member of the international community. It interact with other states at
different levels, one level of interaction is bilateral which mean that you
interact or you deal with or you develop relations with individual countries
for example we can talk about Pakistan’s relations with Afghanistan, Iran and
so on and this is bilateral level. There is another level of interaction which
is called as multilateral level of interaction; Pakistan interacts with more
than one state, this interaction is generally with reference to issues for
example the issue of peace in the international system is something that has to
be addressed along with a large no. of other states. Multilateral level of
interaction also includes interaction with the international organizations. The
third level of interaction is through the United Nations and other
international organizations.
Major problems /challenges faced by Pakistan:
Mr. Ahsan identified three major
problems faced by Pakistanis — terrorism, poverty, and extremism, and said that two of which
are clearly also a major concern for the USA. He emphasized the importance of
education, democratic governance and economic welfare in resolving major
challenges. He added that a partnership between Pakistan and the USA that
addresses these underlying factors will help Pakistan and the USA to overcome
these problems. He talked about severe energy shortages in Pakistan, where everyone
has to suffer multiple power shutdowns and cope with unaffordable costs of
energy. We can succeed in resolving our energy issues only if we end terrorism.
The sign of our success will be when parents in Pakistan start feeling that the
future of their sons and daughters will be better than their living conditions.
The recent announcement of $750 million aid for education and other sectors
over the next few years will greatly help Pakistan to reduce poverty.
Pakistan-Afghanistan n issues:
The crisis in Afghanistan has adversely
impacted Pakistan as in addition to having several millions of refugees, it
must now fight terrorism and worry about its borders in North and West. He said
that allegations that Pakistan is behind recent bombing at Indian Embassy in
Kabul and other un-stabilizing acts in Afghanistan are irrational and lack
common sense. These acts do not further Pakistani interests in any manner. If
anything, the rumors have created more obstacles for Pakistan to build good
relations with India, Afghanistan, USA, and other countries.
Foreign policy of newly elected government:
Talking about the foreign policy
differences in the context of the US-Pakistan relations between former military
regime and the newly elected government, he said that there is now focus on
people-to-people relations instead of just military-to- military relations. It
has to be multi-threaded and just not based on security interests. We want US
and Pakistan to have a free trade treaty as US has with some other countries.
We support the stability of Afghanistan and will not allow the use of its
territory to launch attacks against any other country. We want the US to
facilitate “conflict resolution” between Pakistan, India, and Afghanistan. .
Fighting terrorism
The best way to find terrorism to isolate
and marginalize terrorists and those who support them. The democratic elections
has had already an impact on the situation as it has demonstrated to extremists
that overwhelming majority of Pakistan are not extremists and want to live in a
democratic society.
Restoration of Justices and Independent Judiciary
The government is in constant touch with
lawyers on the restoration of judges and independent judiciary. The Pakistani
Parliament is working diligently to restore judges in a constitutional manner.
Our assessment is that attempting to resolve this issue hastily and without due
consideration of all parties would not work out smoothly and possibly endanger
democracy.
Withdraw
from SEATO and CENTO
Following the loss of East Wing, Pakistan
withdrew from SEATO. Pakistan's military links with the West continued to
decline throughout Bhutto's tenure in power and into the first years of the Zia
regime. CENTO was disbanded following the fall of the Shah of Iran in March 1979,
and Pakistan then joined the Nonaligned Movement. Zia also continued Bhutto's
policy of developing Pakistan's nuclear capability.
Pakistan
as major Non-NATO ally
In March, 2004 the United States
designated Pakistan as a "major Non-NATO ally". This move will
significantly enhance military cooperation between the two countries and enable
Pakistan to purchase modern military equipment, satellite technology, depleted
uranium ammunition and enhance cooperation in defense sector, research and
development with US.
Kashmir
Insurgency 1990
Bilateral tensions increased in early
1990, when Kashmiri militants began a campaign of violence against Indian
Government authority in Jammu and Kashmir. Subsequent high-level bilateral
meetings relieved the tensions between India and Pakistan, but relations
worsened again after the destruction of the Ayodhya Masjid by Hindu extremists
in December 1992 and terrorists bombings in Bombay in March 1993. Talks between
the Foreign Secretaries of both countries in January 1994 resulted in deadlock.
On Balochistan Conflict
The People of Balochistan have shown
considerable trust in the Pakistan Peoples Party by voting for it in large
numbers. We are partners in the Balochistan government. We are fully engaged
with Baloch leaders and firmly believe that military actions have cannot
resolve the issues. We believe Baloch have some legitimate concerns and these
can only be resolved through talks. He said some of Baloch demands concern with
the issue of provincial autonomy and control of resources. The constitutional
package that is being worked out in the Pakistan National Assembly addresses
the core concerns of Baloch people.
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