Pakistan is one of the states that the United States of America (USA) criticized for its relations with the Taliban during the military intervention in Afghanistan after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. In that period, the approach of the USA made India the leading partner of the West in South Asia; The process has also directed the Islamabad administration, which is enmity with this country over the Kashmir Issue, to improve its relations with Beijing.
It is possible to state that China-Pakistan relations have become strategic over time. In particular, after Beijing focused on implementing the Belt-Road Project, one of the six economic corridors envisaged within this project’s framework was the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which contributed significantly to the development, deepening, and institutionalization of relations between the two countries.
There is no doubt that; The corridor mentioned above led to an increase in the expectations of the Islamabad administration regarding relations with China. Because Pakistan thought that it would acquire significant economic gains through the corridor in question. As a matter of fact, it was seen that Pakistan received low-interest and long-term loans from China in order to implement CPEC, and many Chinese investors entered the country. This, in turn, has brought buoyancy to the Pakistani economy in the short term. However, over time, it has come to light that the project will not fully meet the economic expectations of the Islamabad administration. Because the country had to grapple with serious economic difficulties. As a result, objections and reactions to the emergence of a one-way dependency relationship between Pakistan and China began to come to the fore.
In addition, the destabilization of the Belt-Road Project route by the actors targeting China in the global power struggle through terrorism and proxy wars has made Pakistan a country where terrorist acts have increased. In other words, relations with China seem to have resulted in the country’s insecurity and instability and not meeting Pakistan’s expectations economically. It can be said that this has made it necessary to make some changes in Pakistan’s foreign policy.
One of the factors that led to the overthrow of Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan as a result of a vote of no confidence in the parliament was Pakistan’s need to turn to a multi-faceted understanding of diplomacy that observes the balances between power centers. This need stemmed from Khan, who took care to stand on an anti-Western line while defending close relations with China and could not carry out a balanced policy based on versatility. In other words, during the Khan period, Pakistan became an actor that lost its ability to carry out a balanced policy. Therefore, a change began in the country’s foreign policy after Shahbaz Sharif became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The change in question can be summarized in the simplest terms as Pakistan’s orientation towards the West. The first speech he made in the Pakistani Parliament after Sharif’s election was the beginning of Pakistan’s direction to the West during the Sharif era. Because in the speech mentioned above, Sharif made it clear that he aimed to strengthen relations with countries the USA and England.[1] However, Islamabad does not want a one-way dependency situation in its relations with the West, as it does with China.
In fact, this concern is the most important experience that Pakistan has gained from the relations it has developed with China. Therefore, a multi-faceted diplomacy approach, in which relations with China will be maintained, but the balance of the West will be taken into account, has come to the fore as the most appropriate and rational choice for Pakistan’s interests.Since Sharif became Prime Minister, the Islamabad administration has succeeded in developing a foreign policy approach that does not entirely abandon the Chinese option. Still, it takes care to maintain a balanced relationship with Beijing. As a reflection of this, Islamabad, on the one hand, states that it stands behind all the commitments made in the past regarding CPEC; on the other hand, it focuses on improving its relations with Western actors, especially the USA.
It should be noted that these efforts of Islamabad have a very positive response in the eyes of Western states. For example, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken used the words “We look forward to continuing our long-term cooperation with the Government of Pakistan.” in a statement he made shortly after Sharif took office.[2]
At this point, Pakistan, to overcome its economic problems, did not come knocking at China’s door as in the past; on the contrary, it preferred to make contacts with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a way that would reveal its Western orientation. On July 13, 2022, the IMF announced that an agreement was reached on an aid package of 6 billion dollars for the Pakistani economy.[3]
The situation mentioned above revealed that Pakistan is careful to balance its dependence on China while trying to overcome its current economic problems. At the same time, the Islamabad administration’s agreement with the IMF indicates that the country is turning to the West regarding values, especially the functioning of the free market economy. In the explanation made by the IMF, it was stated that Pakistan agreed to continue the reforms in the energy sector, establish a proactive monetary policy to fight inflation, strengthen the management system by making various reforms, and give priority to the fight against corruption.[4]
Based on all this information, it can be argued that Pakistan focuses on restoring its relations with the West. Moreover, it is possible to state that Sharif and Pakistani President Arif Alvi stand on the same point on this issue. For example, in his speech on July 17, 2022, the President of Pakistan emphasized that the government was trying to repair relations with the United States. He appealed to Pakistanis living in the United States and demanded that this effort be supported.[5]
Alvi agrees with the Sharif Government on the normalization of relations with the US in particular and the Western World in general, even though he implemented the Dissolution of the Parliament decision, which was later returned from the Supreme Court during the overthrow of Khan, who is known for his closeness to China. This leads to the assessment that all organs of the state act jointly in Pakistan regarding the “Western Initiative.” In addition, as can be understood from the words of the President of Pakistan, Islamabad also expects that Pakistanis abroad, namely the Pakistani Diaspora, will contribute constructively to restoring relations with the West.
As a result, Pakistan’s foreign policy entered into a critical transformation process with the coming power of Sharif. This new foreign policy approach, which focuses on a multi-faceted diplomacy understanding that observes the balance between power centers, both attaches importance to maintaining relations with China and evaluates the West as an element that should not be ignored as a balancing factor. For this reason, it can be said that the Islamabad administration has taken steps called the “Western Initiative” and tended to restore its relations with the West.
[1] Doğacan Başaran, “Pakistan’daki Değişim Hindistan Dış Politikasını Nasıl Etkiler?”, ANKASAM, https://www.ankasam.org/pakistandaki-degisim-hindistan-dis-politikasini-nasil-etkiler/, (Date of Accession: 18.07.2022).
[2] “ABD Yeni Pakistan Başbakanı Şerif’i Tebrik Etti”, TRT Haber, https://www.trthaber.com/haber/dunya/abd-yeni-pakistan-basbakani-serifi-tebrik-etti-672477.html, (Date of Accession: 18.07.2022).
[3] “آی ایم اف در مورد پرداخت بسته ۶ میلیارد دالری کمک به اقتصاد پاکستان توافق کرد”, Azadi Radio, shorturl.at/aFKNQ, (Date of Accession: 18.07.2022).
[4] Ibid.
[5] “Alvi Wants Expats to Back Fence-Mending with US”, DAWN, https://www.dawn.com/news/1700019/alvi-wants-expats-to-back-fence-mending-with-us, (Date of Accession: 18.07.2022).
