Is Pakistan ready for a multipolar system?

Yasmeen Aftab Ali, Pakistan Today

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Excerpt:

What is extremely important for Pakistan is to spread the base for interstate interaction on multidimensional fronts including economic, strategic, military and political. The new alliances at many points will overlap with old alliances. Politics is not only driven by regional and international outreach but also by economics.

Closer ties with regional nations are a first. If one recalls, though Nepal remained distant when Indo-Pak war broke out, Sri Lanka leaned towards Pakistan.

Public diplomacy [JB emphasis], projecting a soft image of Pakistan, is the need of the day. Instead of using violence, states resort to negotiations and more peaceful methods to resolve issues and attain goals. To achieve this, Pakistan must use multi fronts including her cultural, economic and political base.

Uri Dubinin, Professor of the Department of Diplomacy of MGIMO-University of the RF MFA, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation defines the role of diplomacy beautifully, “What is the art of diplomacy? While the art of war lies in the ability to claim victory through the force of arms, the art of diplomacy aims to achieve the goals set through peaceful means. It is, therefore, the antithesis of using force to solve international problems. In the art of diplomacy, it is the international community’s accumulated experience that serves as a weapon, as does – and herein lays the essence of it – an innovative, creative approach to problems arising. It is on the basis of this that one acts to provide a solution.”

Pakistan lacks a coherent, long-term view on issues that reflects in its poor diplomatic efforts-if any. Governments come and governments go, the thrust towards issues involving nations remains even — of course needing periodic assessment based on emerging situations. Diplomacy needs to be flexible. It must. One must choose one’s battles and every battle is not fought with bullets. Gaining trust of other nations’ key figures is mandatory to develop a relationship that leads to more listening than demanding.

Pakistan’s foreign policy has unconditionally been formed by the circumstances it came in creation. However, high time the approach and narrative must change with ground realities.

In the emerging new world order, those in Pakistan’s power corridors must emerge from the strategy of Cold War period and be prepared for the multipolar world unfurling before them.