LONDON: Senator and former caretaker prime minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar has said that Pakistan’s relevance has grown all over the world, as shown through the security pact signed between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and Islamabad’s growing appeal in Western capitals.
He was speaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) on ‘Pakistan’s Strategic Thinking in New Emerging Scenarios’.
The session was moderated by Rahul Roy-Chaudhury, IISS Senior Fellow for South and Central Asian Defence, Strategy and Diplomacy. Diplomats and members of think-tanks asked Kakar questions about various regional and local issues.
Kakar told the audience that Balochistan comprises several nationalities and ethnicities, including a huge percentage of settlers who have settled for economic reasons and are prime targets of the militant groups.
He said it was ludicrous that there was no condemnation of the human rights violations on a mass scale by the non-state actors, through killings, extortion, and abductions. He said groups like BLA were openly engaging in acts of murder, but Western capitals remain silent on them while raising concerns about the alleged violence by the state authorities.
“You cannot have good and bad violence; you cannot rationalise violence in any form. A framework needs to be made on this,” he said.
Asked if the Pakistan-Saudi pact was motivated by Israel’s attack on Qatar to kill Hamas leaders, Kakar said the timing looked like that, but in reality, Pakistan and the Saudis have been discussing the deal for several years. “It has nothing to do with Israel’s attack on Qatar.”
He said India has suffered diplomatic and actual war upsets because the current Indian leadership doesn’t realise that the West wants India to contain China and move on from obsessing about Pakistan, but India has shown that it remains obsessed with Pakistan.
He advised the West to stop trying to contain China and think about developing cooperation with the economic giant. The former PM said Pakistan’s relations with China are enduring and of permanent status, given the geopolitical realities.
On the question of India, Kakar said Pakistan was keen to have good relations with India, but India was unwilling and hostile to Pakistan.
“We want a dignified existence with a big neighbour; we are not warmongers, but we are not cowards. India suffers from hubris, and India needs to come out of that frame of mind and live with Pakistan like a good neighbour. We cannot change the state of affairs on our own. India needs to play a role, Pakistan needs a partner in India to bring peace and stability, and that’s not possible through the Hindutva militant mindset. India must know Pakistan will not bow down to India, Pakistan will hit back harder next time it's victimised by India.”