Pakistan's Foreign Policy Failure vis a vis Iran

[Desert Fox]

Due to the inept and shortsightedness of Pakistan's foreign policy makers and leaders within the gov.t and armed forces, Pakistan has been dealt another major blow after the U.S. Iran nuclear deal has seen a fruitful conclusion as a result of compromises from both sides in their ongoing discussion and has now enabled the easing of relations between Iran and the West.

As a result, among many possible deals being considered by the two sides are allowing NATO supply transit through Iranian territory for sustaining remaining NATO troops/presence in Afghanistan. Northern Alliance leaders are said to be helping in brokering the deal between the two sides.

Also, india is hastening the further development of Chabahar port for its future supply route/trade link with Afghanistan and Central Asia as a result of easing of ties between Iran and West.

Where Pakistan failed:

Our leaders failed to capitalize on the Iranian-Western rift which existed for quite a long time, enough time for us to be on better terms with the Iranians by securing our borders with them and not allowing foreign entities to use our soil as staging ground for launching terrorist attacks in Iran. Both Iran and Pakistan face similar threats from Afghanistan in the form of terrorism and drug/arms trafficking which both nations could have planned to tackle together had Pakistan been willing to discuss with Iran a post-NATO strategy for Afghanistan in which both nations would work together to keep out/put under leash any elements hostile to one another (Iran keeping out pro-indian elements in exchange for Pakistan keeping out Saudi funded Jihadis).

On the contrary, Pakistan blindly towed Saudi agenda or just remained inactive in bettering relations with its powerful yet isolated neighbor in the West.


The Consequences:

1). Drone strikes will increase as Pakistan would no longer possess a trump card against NATO.

2). Increase in indian influence in Afghanistan and strengthening of anti-Pakistani elements.

3). Iran would be in a better position to dictate to us any terms with regards to any future agreements.

4). Increase in BLA and terrorist/anti-state activities in our Western provinces.

5). We would be forced to allocate more resources from the East to the West leading us to stretch our resources to thin.

5). Our neighborhood would be even more shittier (for us that is) than before.





@Aeronaut @Armstrong @Leader @Jungibaaz @Zakii @Pakistanisage @KingMamba

@Serpentine @kollang @iranigirl2

 

[Leader]

This is all propaganda, no such deal has taken place, no interest in this regard have been shown.. just propaganda by those who want to open NATO supply without Pakistan getting NATO countries to accept our terms of engagement !

 

[farhan_9909]

Don't worry about the afghan side borders.

we pashtuns are spread from chitral upto quetta/zhob.They would have to cross first us which again as only possible in their dreams.

And personally i rrather call the transfer of nato supply from pakistan to iran is a blessing in disguise but i doubt it would be possible for the next 1 decade atleast.

Iran care more about its citizen than Pakistan do and they know it would be suicidal to open a complete border for afghans and they would rather become another pakistan.

 

[Pakistanisage]

I normally don't criticize my country frivolously for minor faults, but I will makean exception here because there is a need for reformation.

Let me just say that Pakistan has not missed the boat with Iran, we have really missed the boat wit the World at large. The reason for that is we have never really mastered the art of Diplomacy. The real art of diplomacy requires presenting your viewpoint in a way that you don't piss anyone off even if the message is negative.

We should strive for the best relations with every nation on this planet. Just because we are friends with one nation does not mean we should have enmity with their enemies. Especially in the realm of trade and commerce we should not let ideology be a bar.

We should learn from China. Even though they are friends of Pakistan and help us militarily against India , they still have a robust Trade and Commerce with India and India also does not care and wants trade and commerce with China.

For the life of me, I don't understand why we have not recognized and built trade relationship with Israel when even the Arabs have close ties ( albeit secretly ) with them.

There are 220 plus nations around the globe and that means there are 220 plus buyers of our products that we have not reached out to. We have great relations with China, Turkey, KSA and UAE , but why not strive to have the same kind of relations with all 220 nations around the globe.

Pakistan can have a per capita GDP of $12,000 to $15,000 in next 5 to 10 years if we wake up to this reality.

 

[BATMAN]

Pakistan's foreign office has regularly accepted Iranian blames, intrusion and shelling on Pakistan, like a partner.
Does this amount to failure? than should Pakistan have had replied to Iran, in tit for tat way, for their provocation?

 

[KingMamba]

@Desert Fox unfortunate but I 100% agree.

 

[Kompromat]

Iran isn't silly, and it has more to fear from a hostile Pakistan, than we have to fear from a hostile Iran.

We need to develop and maintain cordial ties with Iran, we have no mutual beef, no territorial issue. NATO is a thing of the past, they'd be gone in a few years but we will have to deal with the Iranians for eternity. Iran particularly isn't against Pakistan and hasn't shown any intention to do so. Lets just focus on our interests while not allowing Iran to play foul. It has to be calculated and must not result in a diplomatic disaster as the recent govt in Tehran seems to be made of people we can reason with.

 

[MilSpec]

Iran isn't silly, and it has more to fear from a hostile Pakistan, than we have to fear from a hostile Iran.

We need to develop and maintain cordial ties with Iran, we have no mutual beef, no territorial issue. NATO is a thing of the past, they'd be gone in a few years but we will have to deal with the Iranians for eternity. Iran particularly isn't against Pakistan and hasn't shown any intention to do so. Lets just focus on our interests while not allowing Iran to play foul. It has to be calculated and must not result in a diplomatic disaster as the recent govt in Tehran seems to be made of people we can reason with.

Territorial feuds are fluidic in nature, they can be developed if the right circumstances prevail, the question here is has pakistan dealt with Iran in the best possible way it could have?

 

[Kompromat]

Territorial feuds are fluidic in nature, they can be developed if the right circumstances prevail, the question here is has pakistan dealt with Iran in the best possible way it could have?

Simple answer is no. Our F.policy has been hugely biased towards the gulf. We needed a balanced approach towards both sides which was originally proposed by Bhutto. We haven't had an effective Iran policy since Zia's dictatorship as his legacy is being carried on by his son, Mr Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistanis must not forget that Iran also is a gateway to one of our time tested friend Turkey.

 

[T-123456]

You shouldnt have to choose.

 

[Kompromat]

You shouldnt have to choose.

If we develop a free economy, we are in fact very well placed to have cordial relations with the middle east, Iran and Turkey at the same time.

 

[Kaniska]

Can any member shed some light of Iran and Pakistan trade relationship apart from Energy trade? That may provide a perfect scope to increase the relationship between the two.

 

[BATMAN]

Simple answer is no. Our F.policy has been hugely biased towards the gulf. We needed a balanced approach towards both sides which was originally proposed by Bhutto. We haven't had an effective Iran policy since Zia's dictatorship as his legacy is being carried on by his son, Mr Nawaz Sharif.

Pakistanis must not forget that Iran also is a gateway to one of our time tested friend Turkey.

Im sorry, you are perhaps not allowed to travel beyond Mashad.
You are too young, during Zia era, Pakistan was the most popular destination of Iranian students, every thing changed in 90's right after Zia's death, when Iran up its anti against Pakistan on local and international forums.

 

[Chak Bamu]

Trouble is Pakistan gets treated like a pawn in power games of rich countries. The day we set our priorities straight, with a focus on who we are, we shall be on our way. Pakistan is in middle of multiple tugs of war. One is between Gulf Arabs and Iran, the other is between liberals and Islamists, yet another is security state vs. democrats. There are more, but we need to chart our course carefully. We have to be polite but firm with outsiders. We have to stick to constitutionalism for our internal factions - I can not stress this more. We can not afford to piss off others as of now. We just have to sort out our internal problems vis-a-vis energy, economy, militancy, & violence free politics. It would take 3 years from now and we could be well on our way.

In the mid-term future, I see Gulf Arabs looking to us for filling the vacuum that USA's disinterest will create. We can use that opportunity to tell our Arab brothers that we are fed up with them supporting extremists in our country.

Iran can have a very beneficial relation with Pakistan provided they too listen to us. We can once again find our cultural links with them and nurture them so that they are as close to us as Turks and Arabs.

I do not see a diplomatic failure as such. I see our internal problems and contradictions keeping us from realizing our potential. The day USA goes packing from this region, we would resolve a number of our internal contradictions. Until that happens, we have to convince Americans to heed our existential concerns however we can.

Economy has much to do with relative advantages of countries. In Pakistan we desperately need energy projects, better schooling, and infrastructure. I've been to a number of countries. I have never seen the potential that Pakistan has. All my globe-trotting friends agree with this. The coming demographic shift in China and the result of its growth can have enormous positive consequences for us, only if we are in a position to benefit from them.

In short, the problem is not with our diplomacy as such. The problem is with our internal affairs and contradictions. Iranians are a very smart people and they would certainly engage with us positively once we are on our way past these contradictions.

 

[haman10]

@Desert Fox , brother the issue between iran and pakistan is sth that can be dealt with very effective and fast .

the issue is simple : saudi backed jihadists making hell lot of problems near iranian borders , campaigning terrorism , killing iranians . thats it !! no other serious problem ! if you want to be the best buddies of saudi , then its okey with iran as pakistan is an independent nation .

iranian side feels that pakistani gov. is not doing its best regarding the issue .

iran can help you effective and fast with the drone strikes in return . not a bad deal is it ?

plus iran and pakistan have historical relations and this all is temporary be sure .