Pakistan looking to revisit its foreign policy – Part Four

Pakistan looking to revisit its foreign policy – Part Four

Continued from the previous part …

This incident turned out to be a massive moment in the deteriorating relations between the US and Pakistan and the later decided to take a strong and principle stand on this issue. There were massive protests throughout the country after the Salala attack
and as a result the public opinion was gauged by the men who matter in Pakistan.

Pakistan stopped the NATO supplies to Afghanistan and asked the US to evacuate the Shamsi Airbase, which has been in use of the Americans since the war against terror started.

America left the base and the NATO supplies are still halted by Pakistan. Considering the sort of policies, Pakistan has followed since its birth, it is surely a huge stand and proves that the people of Pakistan want sovereignty at any cost.

However, the disappointing thing in this regard is that the people of Pakistan wanted the civil government to make all these decisions, being a democratic one it should be the voice of the general public, but everyone knows that who is calling the shots
behind the scene. Without doubt it is the Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) which has taken this brave step for the betterment of the country.

After the Salala incident, Pakistan boycotted the Bonn Conference earlier this month, which was organized to decide the fate of Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar has clearly said recently that the country is looking to change to its foreign policy. Pakistan does not want bad relations with America and its allies but not at the stake of its sovereignty.

She was quoted as saying, "We will see some fine tuning of our foreign policy as we continue to face fresh challenges in the region. We value our relations with the US and NATO countries. Reassessment in our foreign policy will help us bring clarity, which
will be in the long-term interest of our engagements with the US and others. Pakistan cannot be taken for granted, especially because of its role in the region".

Pakistan has suffered a lot in America’s war and to rub salt into the wounds, the US and NATO have often violated the integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan through drone attacks or other military operations.

The recent incidents may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan and let us hope that the country comes out of someone else’s war.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=6286

Posted by Yasir Hashmi on Dec 16 2011. Filed under Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry