After seven long years, Shah Mehmood Qureshi is back on the foreign policy front. While the second-time foreign minister has to deal with the same set of challenges, the new-age realities have made these challenges even more daunting. However, Qureshi is no newbie to the diplomatic corridors. He has the required competence and the sophistication to perform the role of foreign minister and knows the challenges inside out. His maiden speech at the foreign ministry hours after he took oath of his office shows he understands that much depends upon how he manages relations with the US, Afghanistan, India and China.
For Qureshi, Afghanistan is perhaps the first of the firsts. The foreign minister of Pakistan began his speech with Afghanistan, telling the Afghans and their leader, Ashraf Ghani, that the two countries need to become each other’s support base and that they have the capability to do so. As his ‘second message’, Qureshi stressed the need for a ‘continued and uninterrupted’ dialogue between Pakistan and India as the ‘only way forward’ over the ever-tense bilateral relations. One can clearly see the foreign minister hold out olive branches to both hostile neighbours — a decent goodwill gesture to start off with. If and when he goes about building upon this goodwill gesture, the internal dimension of the external front is sure to come into play — to test his freedom as foreign minister.
In case of the US, Qureshi opted to maintain the political rhetoric that is meant for public consumption, calling for the bilateral ties to be based on mutual respect. Whether he can afford the same ‘straight forward’ talk in close-door meetings with US officials remains to be seen.
Foreign policy cannot be seen in isolation as it reflects a country’s domestic policy. Linked to the foreign policy, in case of Pakistan, are the internal security measures and the economic priorities. It will be a challenge for Qureshi how he adjusts his moves in line with the country’s internal security policy, in particular, in order to achieve his foreign policy goals. His first test is coming up just next month — an address to the United Nations General Assembly where he will have to present Pakistan’s case to the world.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 21st, 2018.
Source:Â https://tribune.com.pk/story/1785650/6-foreign-policy-front/