A defining moment

Much has been written about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Russia. The rationale of the visit and its timing has been questioned as also the possible outcome and how it may hurt our relations with the west, more specifically the US. It appears we have quite a coterie of recruits here doing justice to their stipends of infamy.

It is a known reality that such visits are planned in advance. So was the prime minister’s visit to Russia. Not undertaking the visit simply because the US would be unhappy is a cause rooted in demonising hard facts. Not that any war can ever be supported, but the high moral ground that the US does not tire of trumpeting has been blown into shreds due to its multiple adventures that wreaked havoc in the world.

Starting with Vietnam in the distant past to the horrible WMD hoax for justifying an attack on Iraq, brutal liquidation of Libya, the criminal Syrian venture, remaining ‘at war with the truth’ in Afghanistan for more than two decades and destroying the country in the process, the list of pain and suffering it brought to the world is endless.

The fact that we spurned the invitation from the former Soviet Union in 1948 and PM Liaqat Ali Khan visited the US instead provided an inauspicious beginning to the relations of a newly-born state with a super power. The trajectory of these relations went through turbulent times including the notorious U2 affair and a war that we fought against them on the behest of the US. By then, the Soviet Union was straddled in the Indian lap with whom it later signed a Treaty of Peace and Friendship in August, 1971 encompassing strategic cooperation. This should be viewed in the context of Pakistan’s dismemberment later that year.

Simultaneously, all this while, a realisation had been growing that Pakistan needed to improve its relations with Russia. This feeling was accentuated because, in spite of our best endeavours and sacrifices, we could never establish stable and dependable relations with the US. At best, these remained of a transactional nature. We were used as and when needed and then dumped to clean the deck. The two wars, the one against the Soviet Union and the second against terror, provided ample evidence that we would be rendered irrelevant once the US interests have been served. Not only that, we could even be subjected to harsh sanctions as punishment for allegedly digressing from the chartered path.

It is after 22 years that any prime minister of Pakistan visited Russia as a result of prolonged efforts behind the scenes and some extremely important role played by our friends. In addition to giving a boost to bilateral relations, the visit assumed even greater importance in view of the fast-changing environment in the region. The old alignments are giving way to new realities. As part of its ‘contain China’ policy, the US aligned itself with India as a strategic partner and also exerted pressure on Pakistan to do likewise. That not being possible, it had become imperative for Pakistan to rethink its options. With Russia gradually emerging as another important player, it was but natural for Pakistan to try to cultivate mutually-beneficial bilateral relations with its erstwhile adversary.

When hostilities broke out between Russia and Ukraine, Prime Minister Khan was already in Moscow. A leader of lesser mettle would have thought of abandoning the visit and plunging back into a past of adversity. But Khan is not one such leader. He has an eye on taking Pakistan to greater heights in the future and here was his moment to stamp the difference regarding how leaders should make use of every occasion for furthering the cause of their country. Instead of backing off, Prime Minister Khan used the opportunity to reiterate his deep belief in peaceful resolution of conflicts.

During the course of his meeting with President Putin, which lasted three hours instead of the scheduled one hour, he “regretted the latest situation between Russia and Ukraine and said that Pakistan had hoped that diplomacy could avert a military conflict. He stressed that conflict was not in anyone’s interest, and the developing countries were hit the hardest economically in such situations”. He underlined Pakistan’s belief that “disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy”.

This is the hallmark of great leaders. They don’t shirk their responsibility of serving the interest of their countries under the most daunting circumstances. They do so by stating the course that runs deep in their belief system.

China and Pakistan tied in a strategic partnership with focus on a ‘shared human future’ in the region, it is imperative that other countries also align with the key fundamentals of this bond, Russia being a leading contender to join hands. The fact that Prime Minister Khan and President Putin were both present in Beijing to participate in the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics gave a hint of the shape of things to come. It was for Prime Minister Khan to use the occasion of his visit to Russia to cement the relationship which can have a defining impact on how alignments may change and how things may advance in the near to distant future, bringing good tidings for Pakistan.

But it is the present which is even more important. The prospect of the region emerging as a formidable economic powerhouse of the world is fast taking shape. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is already functional to provide connectivity among these countries to unfurl an economic revolution in the region as an alternative to the US-sponsored hegemony. This is bound to happen. A partnership among the countries of the region can greatly expedite this mammoth prospect.

The instruments of Western neo-imperialism, encompassing FATF, IMF, UN and its multiple other bodies, are targeting economically weak countries like Pakistan to keep them hinged to the tenets of subservience. In doing so, their debt continues to pile up, thus compromising their freedom to make policies to serve their strategic interests and lift their people out of poverty. This cannot change if we were to stay within the existent circuitous web. The countries will have to break free. That is the phenomenon which is gradually taking shape in this part of the world. The need is to help it materialise quickly and, for that, tangible and mutually beneficial partnerships among the countries of the region is an essential prerequisite.

This is a defining moment for Pakistan. It requires daring leadership which has an unflinching faith in the national future and is also blessed with the courage to take decisions which may rewrite the history of Pakistan. We are living such a moment.

The writer is the special assistant to the PM on information, a political and security strategist, and the founder of the Regional Peace Institute. He tweets @RaoofHasan