Foreign Policy

Pakistan’s Foreign Policy seeks to protect, promote and advance Pakistan’s national interests in
the external domain.

The Foreign Ministry contributes towards safeguarding Pakistan’s security and advancing
Pakistan’s development agenda for progress and prosperity following the guiding principles laid
out by our founding fathers.

Guiding Principles of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy

Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Founder of Pakistan and its first Governor General, in
a broadcast talk to the people of the USA in February 1948, outlined the following goals of
Pakistan’s foreign policy:

“Our foreign policy is one of friendliness and goodwill towards all the nations of the world.
We do not cherish aggressive designs against any country or nation. We believe in the
principle of honesty and fair play in national and international dealings and are prepared to
make our utmost contribution to the promotion of peace and prosperity among the nations
of the world. Pakistan will never be found lacking in extending its material and moral support
to the oppressed and suppressed peoples of the world, and in upholding the principles of the
United Nations Charter.”

The Constitution of Pakistan also lays down guidelines for the conduct of foreign policy of the
country. Article 40 of the constitution provides that:

“The State shall endeavour to preserve and strengthen fraternal relations among Muslim
countries based on Islamic unity, support the common interests of the peoples of Asia, Africa
and Latin America, promote international peace and security, foster goodwill and friendly
relations among all nations and encourage the settlement of international disputes by
peaceful means.”

The foreign policy of Pakistan is primarily directed to the pursuit of national goals of seeking
peace and stability through international cooperation. Special emphasis is laid on economic
diplomacy to take advantages offered by the process of globalization as also to face challenges
of the 21st century. Our foreign policy is also geared to project the image of the country as a
dynamic and moderate society.

The foreign policy of Pakistan seeks to promote the internationally recognized norms of
interstate relations, i.e. respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States, non-
interference in the internal affairs of other State; non-aggression and peaceful settlement of
disputes. Pakistan has therefore always sought to develop friendly and cordial relations with all
countries of the world.

Foreign Policy Objectives

In light of the guiding principles laid down by the founding fathers and the constitution as also
aspirations of the people of Pakistan, the objectives of foreign policy can be summarized as
under:

· Promotion Pakistan as a dynamic, progressive, moderate, and democratic Islamic country.

· Developing friendly relations with all countries of the world, especially major powers and
immediate neighbours.

· Safeguarding national security and geo-strategic interests, including Kashmir.

· Consolidating our commercial and economic cooperation with international community.

· Safeguarding the interests of Pakistani Diaspora abroad.

· Ensuring optimal utilization of national resources for regional and international

cooperation.

Analysis of Pakistan’s foreign policy

Pakistan’s foreign policy seems to be on a changing course. Much has been written on the
successes and failures of its policy, with more focus on highlighting those areas where Pakistan
has ostensibly been outdone. For those who criticise the current discourse of Pakistan’s policy
there are two major things that need to be highlighted firstly, Pakistan has failed to convince the
world about its counter-terrorism efforts; and regionally, India has managed to isolate Pakistan.
This is demonstrated from the latter’s relations with Iran, Afghanistan and the US. However, the
reality is somewhat different. Pakistan is not isolated, rather it has been realigning its foreign
policy, particularly since 2011- the first time the PPP government managed to diversify its
‘friends’ in the international arena.

A few months back, Pakistan managed to achieve a membership of Shanghai Cooperation

Organization (SCO) – by no measure a little achievement. One thing is of importance that the
SCO regime works on the basis of consensus, and Pakistan’s permanent membership implies
Pakistan’s acceptance in the organisation by Russia and the Central Asian states. True, China has
always been an ‘all-weather’ friend of Pakistan, but this time, it was Russia, with whom Pakistan
had not been historically very warm due to its role in the US block during Cold War. Russia
warmly welcomed Pakistan in the SCO alongside India. It is not a small achievement.
Now, using the SCO platform, Pakistan can share its counter-terrorism experiences with the
member-states, particularly Russia and the Central Asian states, for whom the phenomenon of
‘terrorism, extremism and separatism’ have always been a problem. It could deepen the political,
economic and cultural ties of Pakistan with the Eurasian belt. Hopefully, in the future, peace in
Afghanistan would further embed these countries together amidst China’s OBOR (One Belt One
Road) program. And the SCO would provide a platform to both Pakistan and India to resolve
their disputes, and the consensus clause in the SCO would make it imperative for Russia and
China to provide their ‘good-offices’ in normalising relations between the nuclear-powered
neighbours.

Independent of the SCO, Pakistan has been building on its relations with Russia. As discussed
above, Pak-Russia relations had been a victim of Cold-War politics, with Pakistan in the US bloc
and India — maintaining a posture of non-alignment — under Russia’s influence. Recently,
things have been changing. While India has realigned itself with the US, Pakistan has been
working on improving its relations with Russia. The recent joint military exercises and the
energy deals between both the countries show that things are moving towards the right direction.
More importantly, Pakistan and Russia’s unanimous stance on the future of Afghanistan displays
the common interests between the two countries. And if we add China into this calculus, Pak-
Russia-China ties would play a role of ‘regional stabiliser’, especially after Trump’s Afghan
strategy.

Regarding Iran, there have been failures in the way Pakistan had handled its regional policy.
Culturally and historically, both Pakistan and Iran have a lot in common — common religion,
culture, history. Yet both the countries have failed to collaborate on their strategic interests.
Taking advantage of Pakistan’s insouciant attitude, India has managed to deepen its ties with
Iran, as evidenced from Indian investment in Chabahar Port in of Iran. However, things are
improving. After Trump’s Afghan policy and its anti-JCPOA rhetoric, we can see a convergence
of interests between Pakistan and Iran. Both the countries want a regional political solution to the
Afghan conflict. More importantly, India’s deepening strategic ties with the US havemade Iran
uncomfortable. On Kashmir, we can see Iran’s stance in explicit terms. So, Pakistan should build
on these common interests. And the first step could be the completion of the Iran-Pakistan gas
pipeline.

Pakistan also has a good relationship with the European World and Turkey. There have been
efforts by Pakistan to improve its trade with the EU

Many new European companies are coming to invest in Pakistan, particularly the auto sector.
And with Turkey, Pakistan has political, economic and cultural relations. Pakistan, Turkey and
Iran have been working to improve their economic ties under the framework of the ECO
(Economic Cooperation Organisation. In Africa, Pakistan has been working on exploring the
African markets, which have a great potential, as Africa can be a big market for Pakistan’s
export, particularly for agriculture products. In effect, the arguments of ‘political Isolation’ are
mere political rhetoric, with no reality in it.
Lastly, Pakistan’s counter-terrorism narrative has successfully managed to inform the world,
under the UNGA platform about the sacrifices Pakistan has made for rooting out terrorism from
the country. India’s efforts of isolating Pakistan have effectively turned the tables on India by
labelling India ‘mother of terrorism’. Moreover, the Kashmir issue has once again reverberated
in the UN. Things are not that bad as they look. There are many flowers to pick from Pakistan’s
foreign policy.