Determinants of Pakistan’s

Foreign Policy
Foreign policy
• Foreign policy is a plan of action that a nation adopts with regard to
its diplomatic dealings with other countries in the world. This is the
policy that dictates how a country will act with respect to other
countries politically, socially, economically, and militarily. The
development of foreign policy is influenced by domestic
considerations, the policies or behavior of other states, or plans to
advance specific geopolitical designs.
Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah’s
Vision
• One of the 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 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.”
Modes of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy
• In the context of Pakistan, we have seen that when Saudi Arabia expected
Pakistani soldiers to fight in Yemen — though the request was politely
turned down —  the government invoked religion; when Chinese
President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan, official propagandists started to
highlight the economic and strategic imperatives that bind together
Islamabad and Beijing; when it comes to our other neighbors in the
region — India, Afghanistan and Iran — we mostly adopt a hostile
undertones and perceive Indian maneuvers in the region as a threat;
when it comes to Muslim World, we present our country as the only
Muslim State having nuclear power and the only advocate of unity of
Muslim Ummah; and when it comes to EU or the United States or Russia 
or any superpower, we invoke our important geographical location in
Asia.
Factors of determining Foreign Policy
• The first question that comes to mind regarding the foreign policy making
in Pakistan is: “What factors determine the foreign policy making in
Pakistan? "Following is a brief description of the factors that policymakers
have to keep in mind while making decisions related to country’s policy.
1. Ideology
2. Geography
3. History
4. Domestic Policies
5. Security
6. Economic Compulsions
1. Ideology
• Pakistan was created as a homeland for Muslims of British India after a long
freedom struggle. Islam was at the core of this struggle because Two Nation Theory
reinforced that Muslims were a separate nation, with their distinct cultural,
ideological and religious values. In the establishment of Pakistan, Muslims actually
dreamed of a separate homeland where they could spend their lives according to
the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH).
• Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah also vowed to preserve the Islamic ideology of
the country. He said:“Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the
Muslim Ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift
and treasure and which, we hope other will share with us.”
• So, it was not possible for our foreign policy makers to set aside this ideology while
framing country’s foreign policy. Hence Islamic ideology has always been a central
focus in this realm.
2. Geography
• “The foreign policy of a country is determined by its geography”.—
Napoleon BonaparteFor the policymakers, it is important to take
into considerations factors like what country’s neighbors are, as their
attitude, irrespective of their size or power, has a direct bearing
especially on issues of its security, development and resource
allocation. No country could change its geography nor choose its
neighbors. So, in Pakistan, sole consideration has been on
safeguarding and preserving country’s independence and territorial
integrity. Geography, thus, placed on Pakistan the onerous
responsibility of consistent vigilance and careful conduct of its
relations not only with its immediate neighbors but also with the rest
of the world.
3. History
• Since its inception, Pakistan has been facing complex challenges.
Hence, the country’s foreign policy is also guided by its history.
Pakistan and India relations have been marred by distrust and
antagonism. Pakistan and Afghanistan have also been at odds since
long, major concern being the Durand Line which Afghanistan is not
willing to accept an international border. Thanks to the old imperial
connections, we immediately got sucked into the Cold War struggle.
In the process, we encountered unbroken series of crises and
challenges that perhaps, no other country in the world has ever
experienced. So, foreign policy makers cannot remain oblivious to
these factors.
4. Domestic Policies
• The foreign policy of a country is linked to its domestic policies,
governance issues and political situation. A country’s standing in the
international community always corresponds directly to its political,
social, economic and strategic strength. Foreign policy cannot be
divorced from domestic considerations. It is an outcome of national
priorities, strength and weaknesses. Unlike large powers, mistakes in
foreign policy can be very costly for a developing country like Pakistan.
Pakistan’s position in the world is constrained by its weak economics
and its dependence on foreign finances. And, that has been a big
challenge before the policymakers. The policymakers must understand
that no country has ever succeeded externally if it is weak and crippled
domestically. Even a superpower, the former Soviet Union, could not
survive as a superpower because domestically it was weak and crippled.
5. Security
• Internal and external security is the most important factor in
Pakistan’s foreign policy. Historian Paul Kennedy named Pakistan as
one of the nine pivotal states whose future evolution would not only
determine the fate of their region, but also affect international
stability. Pakistan has developed as a principal actor and a vital
personality of its own. So, it is supposed to secure and protect its all
vital interests, at all costs. We can now see the importance of Pakistan
in peace and stability of area as well as for other countries after Peace
agreement between USA and Talibans.
6. Economic Compulsions
• Pakistan as a developing country also needs to establish and maintain
cordial relations with those states with whom it can maximize its
trade relations or from whom it can obtain maximum economic aid.
Pakistan’s position in the world is constrained by its weak economics
and its dependence on foreign finances. The main aim of Pakistan’s
foreign policy is to boost economic trade.
The era of friendship with all (1947-53)
• After the independence, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah described
the core principles of Pakistan’s foreign policy by categorically stating:
“Our foreign policy is one of the friendliness and goodwill towards all the
nation 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
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 era of friendship with all (1947-53)
• Pakistan forged amicable relations with the newly-established Muslim
countries, and supported the freedom movements of Indonesia, Algeria,
Tunisia, Morocco and Eritrea against the Western colonial powers.
• Despite Jinnah’s peace overtures, India adopted an expansionist policy
towards Pakistan by annexing the princely states of Junagadh, Hyderabad
and Jammu and Kashmir, an act that led to the outbreak of the war over
Kashmir in 1947. Besides, New Delhi prevailed upon Afghanistan to reject
the Durand Line as the permanent border between Pakistan and
Afghanistan. Such antagonism on the part of India sowed the bitter seed
of perennial hostility between the two countries.
Alignment with the West (1953-1963)
• Due to the Indian threat and the spectre of Communism in Asia, Prime
Minister Liaquat Ali Khan snubbed Moscow’s invitation and, instead, chose to
visit the United States (1950). For, after the deadly Second World War, the
Soviet Union did not possess adequate monetary resources and
sophisticated weapons to assist Pakistan’s budding economy and ensure its
security from the Indian threat.
• Prime Minister Khan’s visit conclusively demonstrated Pakistan’s tilt to the
US-led West, which prompted the Soviet Union to partner with India in this
part of the world. The Pak-US partnership led to the Mutual Defense
Assistance Agreement which was concluded in 1954. Under the Accord, the
US arranged to provide modern war training to Pakistan’s armed forces. Such
effective training helped increase the capacity and capability of Pakistani
troops vs India.
Alignment with the West (1953-1963)
• The signing of SEATO and CENTO in 1954 and 1955, respectively,
further cemented the Pak-US relations. Through these regional blocks,
the US wished to contain the proliferation of communism in South,
West and East Asia. Washington rewarded Pakistan’s support against
the Soviet Union through economic and military assistance.
• Though President Ayub Khan allowed the US to fly spy mission to the
Soviet Union from Pakistani territory, Washington avoided supplying
economic and military aid to Islamabad during the 1965 Indo-Pak war.
Worse, the US resorted to placing economic and military embargoes
on Pakistan in the post war period.
The era of transition (1963-72)
• Pakistan had to change its policy toward the West due to the US military
assistance to India during the Sino-Indian war of 1962, and the Soviet
Union’s threat to retaliate after its downing of a US spy plane, U-2, which
had taken off from Badaber, Peshawar.
• Despite earlier hostility, Moscow offered credit and technical assistance for
oil exploration in Pakistan in 1961. New avenues of cooperation were
explored during the visits of the then foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and
President Ayub Khan to Moscow in January and April 1965, respectively.
Ayub’s visit convinced the Soviets to assist Pakistan in implementing 30
development projects during the Third Five-Year Plan (1965-70). Moscow
adopted a balanced approach with regard to the Kashmir problem and
demonstrated neutrality during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. Soviet Premier Alexi
Kosygin helped India and Pakistan resolve the problems arising out of the
1965 war through the Tashkent Declaration that was signed in January 1966.
The era of transition (1963-72)
• Pakistan’s relations with China enhanced rapidly during the said
period. The two countries signed several agreements in trade,
shipping and border demarcation in 1963 to expand their bilateral
relations. Moreover, when Pakistan supported China in its efforts to
counterbalance the US attempt at isolating Beijing regionally, Chinese
president Zhou Enlai, in February 1964, declared Beijing’s support for
the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination.
Bilateralism and non-alignment (1972-79)
• President Bhutto endeavored to diversify the foreign relations by withdrawing
the country from the Commonwealth and SEATO in 1972. He fostered the
country’s economic and diplomatic relations with East European, Asian, African
and South and Central American states. Pakistan also withdrew from CENTO in
March 1979 to join the Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in September in the
same year.
• Moreover, Bhutto signed the Shimla Accord with India on 2 July 1972, which
resulted in the release of over 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war (POWs) from
Indian custody and removal of Indian troops from Pakistani soil. After hosting
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) summit in Islamabad in February
1974, Mr Bhutto made a prodigious success in restoring Pakistan’s image after
the secession of East Pakistan and enhancing the country’s leadership role in
the Muslim world. Under Bhutto, Pakistan made significant headways in
establishing robust relations with China and the Soviet Union. Resultantly,
Moscow agreed to provide loans to help Pakistani economy recover.
Bilateralism and non-alignment (1972-79)
• When, in 1976, Pakistan entered into an agreement with France to
acquire a nuclear reprocessing plant, the US withdrew its A-7 aircraft
offer in 1977 and suspended economic assistance and military sales
top Pakistan in order to prevent Islamabad from establishing uranium-
enrichment facilities. Washington succeeded to convince France also
in 1978 to withdraw itself from the agreement with Pakistan.
Enter the Afghan war (1979-88)
• The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 once again
compelled the US to bury the hatchet and forge a strong partnership
with Islamabad to defeat the Red Army in Afghanistan. Both the CIA
and ISI prepared a raft of fighters, trained them and dispatched them
to Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet forces. By the time the
Soviet Union was crushingly defeated in Afghanistan in 1988, Pakistan
became the second largest recipient of American aid – after Israel.
However, the disruptive Afghan war adversely impacted Pakistan’s
economy and security conditions as it resulted in the proliferation of
weapons and fanning of religious extremism and militancy throughout
the country.
The post-Cold War era (1990-2001)
• When the Soviet Union decided to withdraw from Afghanistan under
the Geneva Accords, signed in 1988, the US began raising an accusing
finger on Pakistan’s nuclear programme. Therefore, Washington
cancelled the sale of several F-16s, and barred economic assistance to
Islamabad under the Pressler Amendment. However, after Benazir
Bhutto’s visit to the US, the Clinton administration removed the
embargoes on Pakistan and gave military supplies worth $ 368 million
to Islamabad under the Brown Amendment of 1995.
The post-Cold War era (1990-2001)
• During the same period, the Indo-Pak relations also took a downward spiral
over the simmering unrest in Kashmir. When New Delhi massively rigged 1987
elections in the Valley, the Kashmiris took to streets and demonstrated against
the blatant rigging. To silence the protesters, India resorted to employing brute
force, thus instigating the Kashmiris to forcefully resist the Indian oppression.
New Delhi accused Pakistan of orchestrating the instability in the Valley and
requested the US to suspend the supply of aircraft and economic assistance to
Islamabad.
• However, India and Pakistan agreed on a framework for peaceful interaction
when Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee visited Lahore in February
1999. But, the spirit of the Lahore Declaration was ruined when the two
countries got engaged in a limited war in Kargil during May-July in 1999.
The post-Cold War era (1990-2001)
• It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan’s backing of the Afghan
Taliban in the 1990s strained the Pak-Iran relations, thereby making
Iran fall into the Indian lapse. At that time, both Iran and India were
immersed in backing up non-Pashtun groups to prevent the Taliban
from taking over Kabul. Capitalizing on its rapprochement with Iran,
India successfully persuaded Tehran to jointly constructing the
Chabahar Port. Sadly, both the PPP and the PML-N governments in
the 1990s did not heed to placating Iran and stop it from forging
strong relations with India.
The post 9/11 era
• Under the Glenn Amendment, the Clinton administration imposed economic and
military sanctions on both Pakistan and India, owing to their nuclear tests in May
1998. After the fateful 9/11 incident, the US not only lifted the sanction on Pakistan
but also made Islamabad its most-allied ally in the US-led war on terror. The Bush
administration employed a “carrot and stick” policy to goad Pakistan into partnering
with the US against terrorists in Afghanistan.
• During the Musharraf era, Pakistan and India decided to reduce their nuclear arsenals
and resolve the Kashmir issue in the Agra summit of July 2001. However, the Indian
intransigence scuttled the Agra understanding. Menacingly, the attacks on the Indian
Parliament on December 13, 2001, brought both countries on the verge of a border
confrontation with the potential of escalating into a full-blown nuclear showdown.
But after extensive efforts, both the countries agreed and enforced a ceasefire on the
Line of Control on November 26, 2003.
Diversification of foreign policy under the
PPP (2008-2013)
• Though the PPP government was plagued with scandals of massive
corruption, it did succeed in diversifying the foreign relations of the
country. The US signed the Kerry-Luger Bill in October 2009 to grant
$7.5 billion in non-military aid to Pakistan. Besides, both the civilian
and military leadership played a pivotal role in resetting the Pak-
Russia relations through high-profile visits to Moscow. Importantly,
Pak-Iran relations also improved after the signing of the Iran-Pak (IP)
gas pipeline. However, the climate of trust between Pakistan and
India, achieved during the Musharraf era, turned into hostility after
the 2008 Mumbai attack, which India blamed on a Pakistan-based
militant group.
Current democratic setup (2013 till present)
• The democratic dispensation under the PML-N – during premiership of Nawaz Sharif
– achieved two major objectives on the foreign policy front. Firstly, the country has
received the full-membership of the SCO that will tremendously help Pakistan work
with China, Russia and Central Asian Republics in combating the three evils of
extremism, terrorism and separatism in the region. Secondly, China has decided to
invest around $60 billion through China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for
upgrading Pakistan’s transport infrastructure and energy sector. Both the successes
will probably make the country a trade hub in the region.
• However, the government has failed to address the ambiguities in the country’s
foreign policy. This is still unclear whether the ill-conceived policy of strategic depth
toward Afghanistan – against India – has been discarded or not. Kabul considers this
strategy as a deliberate attempt to interfere in its affairs. Therefore, Afghanistan has
shown its unwillingness to reset its relations with Pakistan. Ominously, in retaliation,
the Ashraf Ghani-led Afghan government has given India a carte blanche to use
eastern provinces of Afghanistan for orchestrating terrorism inside Pakistan.
Current democratic setup (2013 till present)
• Despite the lifting of economic sanctions on Iran by the US, the government has
continued to drag its feet in terms of completing Pakistan’s portion of the IP gas
pipeline. This has led Tehran to further forge its ties with New Delhi. The latter is
set to dominate the Central Asian markets by accessing the region through the
Chabahar Port via Afghanistan, thus encircling Pakistan in South Asia. Islamabad
direly needs all-out support of Tehran in successfully combating the low-intensity
insurgency in Balochistan and the menacing Shia-Sunni proxy war.
• The present government has also failed to employ adroit diplomacy in highlighting
gross violations of human rights being committed in the Indian-occupied Kashmir.
The Indian lobby has continued to play the obstructive role in preventing the US
from selling F-16s and providing the remaining Coalition Support Fund to Pakistan.
Moreover, the government has failed to convince the world about Indian
sponsoring of terrorism and insurgency inside Pakistan despite the availability of
evidence such as the disclosures of detained Indian spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Current democratic setup (2013 till present)
• Despite losing about 50,000 lives and over $120 billion in the war on
terror, the US is still sceptical of Pakistan’s military actions against the
Haqqani Network in North Waziristan. Washington has recently
passed a bill making the payment of $50 million conditional to
Pakistan’s visible military measures against the Haqqanis.
Furthermore, the US is also reluctant to conclude a civilian nuclear
accord with Pakistan and is not supportive of Islamabad’s bid to join
the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). This manifests the failure of the
government in terms of dexterously using diplomacy to enhance
economic and security partnership with the US.