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Pakistan
FOREIGN POLICY

Pakistan's foreign policy has been marked by a complex balancing process--the result of
its history, religious heritage, and geographic position. The primary objective of that
policy has been to preserve Pakistan's territorial integrity and security, which have been
in jeopardy since the state's inception.

A new era began with the partition of British India in 1947 and the formation of two
independent, sovereign states--India and Pakistan. Both nations searched for their place
in the world order and aspired to leadership roles beyond the subcontinent.

India and Pakistan became adversaries at independence and have so remained. The two
countries fought each other shortly after partition, in 1965, and in 1971, causing the
dismemberment of Pakistan and the creation of still another new sovereign entity--
Bangladesh. India-Pakistan rivalry intensified rather than diminished after the Cold War,
and the Kashmir territorial dispute remains dangerous and recurrent.

Pakistan sought security through outside alliances. The new nation painstakingly worked
on building a relationship with the United States, in which the obligations of both sides
were clearly defined. The Western-oriented, anticommunist treaties and alliances Pakistan
joined became an important part of its foreign policy. Pakistan also saw itself as a
vanguard of independent Muslim states.

Pakistan’s relations with the world

India

A major focus in Pakistan's foreign policy is the continuing quest for security against
India, its large, more powerful, and generally hostile neighbor. Pakistan was created
despite the opposition of the most powerful political party in prepartition India, the
Hindu-dominated Indian National Congress, and the suspicion remains among Pakistanis
that India has never reconciled itself to the existence of an independent Pakistan. Several
events further soured the relationship. One of these was the massive transfer of
population between the two countries at partition, with its attendant bloodshed as
Muslims left India and Hindus and Sikhs left Pakistan. There was also bitterness over the
distribution of financial assets left by the British, with India initially blocking payments
to Pakistan from the joint sterling account. An even more complex issue was the
sovereignty of Kashmir, a concern arising from the accession of the princely states to
India or Pakistan at partition. Although almost all of these states made the choice quickly,
based on geographic location and the religious majority of their population, several
delayed. One of these was Hyderabad, with a predominantly Hindu population and a
Muslim ruler who did not want to accede to India. Hyderabad was a landlocked state in
the south of India, and Indian military intervention was used to incorporate it into India.
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The princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (usually referred to as Kashmir), however, had
a Hindu ruler and boundaries with both Pakistan and India. Although Muslims constituted
a majority of the state's population, the Hindu-Sikh community made up the majority in
the province of Jammu, and Buddhists predominated around Ladakh. After a popular
uprising against the Hindu ruler in late 1947, supported by Pakistani tribesmen and some
military units, the ruler panicked and acceded to India. The subsequent Indo-Pakistani
War of 1947-48 over control of Kashmir concluded with a cease-fire brokered by the
United Nations (UN), which took effect on January 1, 1949. Kashmir was divided by a
UN line between the areas held by the two countries, and a 1949 UN Security Council
resolution provided for a plebiscite to be held under UN auspices to decide the issue of
accession. India has refused to hold the plebiscite, and the dispute has continued. In 1965
war broke out again between the two countries over Kashmir, ending in another cease-
fire in September. The Tashkent Declaration, signed on January 10, 1966, under the
auspices of the Soviet Union, provided for restoration of the India-Pakistan international
boundary and the Kashmir cease-fire line but did not result in a permanent solution to the
problem.

Relations between the two countries reached a new low in 1971, when India intervened
militarily in support of secessionist forces in East Pakistan, thus playing an instrumental
role in the creation of independent Bangladesh. Although the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
was fought over East Pakistan, heavy fighting also occurred along the Kashmir cease-fire
line. Consequently, under the Simla Agreement of 1972 following the end of that war, the
cease-fire line in Kashmir was redefined (it is now usually referred to as the Line of
Control), and India and Pakistan agreed not to use force in Kashmir. The agreement also
improved relations sufficiently for India to release some 90,000 prisoners of war taken
when Pakistan's army had surrendered in East Pakistan (see Yahya Khan and
Bangladesh , ch. 1).

The circumstances surrounding the conflict over Kashmir changed considerably over the
years, as have the levels of UN involvement in the dispute. The military balance between
India and Pakistan after the latter's defeat in the 1971 war heavily favored India. Another
changed circumstance is that beginning in 1989, India has had to face a virtual "Kashmiri
intifada" in its repressive efforts to keep a sullen and predominantly Muslim Kashmiri
populace under control. This insurrection, India claimed, was supported by the "hidden
hand" of Pakistan. Furthermore, the situation became even more complex with a growing
movement among certain factions of Kashmiri militants for an independent Kashmiri
state, precluding accession to either India or Pakistan. The volatile and potentially
explosive situation in Kashmir continued to be monitored in 1994 by a team of UN
observers, who operated under significant constraints. The Kashmir dispute continues to
be the major deterrent to improved relations between the two countries.

Pakistan's suspicions of Indian intentions were further aroused by India's entry into the
nuclear arena. India's explosion of a nuclear device in 1974 persuaded Pakistan to initiate
its own nuclear program. The issue has subsequently influenced the direction of
Pakistan's relations with the United States and China. United States-Pakistan relations
over the nuclear issue are particularly prickly. Pakistan's relations with China on this
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issue, however, have been influenced by both countries' suspicions of India. In 1991
China called on India to accept Pakistan's proposal of a nuclear-free weapons zone in
South Asia. In the same year, Pakistan and China signed a nuclear cooperation treaty
reportedly intended for peaceful purposes. This agreement included provision by China
of a nuclear power plant to Pakistan.

An added source of tension in Indo-Pakistani relations concerned the Soviet Union's

invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 (see Other South Asian Countries , this ch.).
India refused to condemn the Soviet action, while Pakistan provided sanctuary for
Afghan refugees and was a conduit for supplying arms from the United States and others
to the Afghan mujahidin. During the Soviet Union's military intervention in Afghanistan,
therefore, Pakistan felt an increased threat on both its eastern and northwestern borders.
The rise of militant Hinduism in India, and the accompanying violence against Muslims
there, was a further source of uneasiness between the two countries.

Other South Asian Countries

Pakistan seeks to expand its relations with other South Asian states, particularly
Bangladesh. After an initial period of understandable coolness following the civil war
that created Bangladesh in 1971, relations between the two countries have improved
considerably. Although Pakistan initially refused to recognize Bangladesh, formal
relations between the two countries were established in 1976. Trade revived between
Pakistan and its former East Wing, and air links were reestablished. The presidents of the
two countries exchanged visits. Both countries often agreed on international issues,
sometimes in opposition to India's views. Pakistan also joined the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which was founded through the efforts
of Bangladesh's President Ziaur Rahman. SAARC generally avoided political issues,
instead addressing social, economic, technological, and environmental matters. However,
SAARC's annual summit meetings provide an opportunity for private discussions among
the heads of government.

Pakistan's relations with Afghanistan, its Muslim neighbor to the northwest, have never
been easy. When Pakistan was admitted to the UN, only Afghanistan cast a negative vote,
the result of Afghanistan's refusal to accept the Durand Line as its border with Pakistan.
This border, established in 1893, divides the Pakhtu or Pashto-speaking people of the
region. Afghanistan promoted secessionist movements among the Pakhtuns in Pakistan,
calling for the creation of an independent Pakhtunistan or, alternatively, for Pakistan's
North-West Frontier Province to join Afghanistan.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, however, had a profound effect on Pakistan's

geopolitical situation. Pakistan became a frontline state in the Cold War. Altogether more
than 3 million Afghan refugees fled to Pakistan, and the country became a base for
mujahidin fighting against the Soviet forces and the Afghan communists. Pakistan also
became a conduit for military assistance by the United States and others to the mujahidin.
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After the Soviet Union completed its troop withdrawal from Afghanistan in February
1989, warfare continued between the mujahidin and the Afghan communist government
in Kabul. The demise of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, however, resulted
in a reassessment of Pakistan's foreign policy, particularly in light of the sweeping
restructuring of central and southwest Asia. The Afghan resistance had been unable to
unseat the Kabul regime. The heavy burden of the Afghan refugees continued, and
Pakistan wanted to be in a position to establish linkages with the newly emerging Central
Asian republics of the former Soviet Union. Pakistan decided in early 1992 to press for a
political settlement. The communist government in Kabul was ousted in May 1992 and
replaced by a fragile coalition of various mujahidin factions. But the coalition did not
include the most radical of the Islamist mujahidin leaders, Gulbaddin Hikmatyar.

In March 1993, the government of Nawaz Sharif brokered an agreement between

President Burhanuddin Rabbani of Afghanistan and Hikmatyar, Rabbani's longtime
enemy, to share power in Afghanistan for eighteen months and then hold elections. Under
the agreement, Rabbani would remain president, Hikmatyar would become prime
minister, and they would choose government ministers together. A cease-fire was also to
be implemented. It remains, however, for the agreement to be ratified by the leaders of all
Muslim groups involved in the war. In 1994 fighting between mujahidin groups escalated
in Kabul, and a new flood of refugees moved toward the Pakistani border.

The Former Soviet Union

In November 1992, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Afghanistan, and the five former Soviet
republics of Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan created
an extended Muslim economic block linking Asia and Europe. As a result, the expanded
Economic Co-operation Organization (ECO), in terms of geographic territory covered,
became the largest economic bloc after the European Community. Former Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif noted in a speech marking the occasion that the ECO "now corresponds to
the boundaries of the ancient area, which brought prosperity and civilization. . . through
fruitful exchanges along the historic silk route. The people of these lands have a shared
history and common spiritual and cultural values." Nawaz Sharif added his belief that
extensive investment in infrastructure and encouragement of the private sector were the
most important immediate objectives. He noted that Pakistan was building a major
highway network to link Central Asia to the Arabian Sea and that its railroads were
"poised to link not only member states but also ECO with Europe, Russia, and South
Asia." He added that "peace in Afghanistan is essential for political harmony and fruitful
cooperation in our entire region."

Pakistan
China

Pakistan's desire for maximum balance and diversification in its external relations has
also led to close relations with China--a valuable geopolitical connection. In 1950
Pakistan recognized the new People's Republic of China, the third noncommunist state
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and the first Muslim country to do so. The deterioration in Sino-Indian relations that
culminated in the 1962 border war provided new opportunities for Pakistan's relations
with China. The two countries reached agreement on the border between them, and a road
was built linking China's Xinjiang-Uygur Autonomous Region with the Northern Areas
of Pakistan. China supported Pakistan diplomatically in both its 1965 and 1971 wars with
India and provided Pakistan with economic and military assistance. Pakistan's China
connection enabled it to facilitate the 1971 visit of United States secretary of state Henry
Kissinger to that country, and in the 1980s China and the United States supplied military
and economic assistance through Pakistan to the Afghan mujahidin fighting the Soviet
occupation forces. Pakistan's ties with China remain strong, and friendly relations
between the two countries continue to be an important factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.

Middle East

Pakistan also maintains close relations with the Islamic countries of the Middle East.
These ties are important for religious, strategic, political, and economic reasons. In 1955
Pakistan, together with Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, joined the Baghdad Pact, a security
arrangement later called the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) after Iraq's
withdrawal. CENTO was buttressed in 1964 by a regional arrangement among Pakistan,
Iran, and Turkey called the Regional Cooperation for Development (RCD), and economic
cooperation activities overshadowed the security aspects of the countries' relations.
CENTO was disbanded in 1979 with the overthrow of Shah Muhammad Reza Pahlavi's
government in Iran, and the RCD dissolved. The RCD was effectively revived in 1984 as
the ECO.

Pakistan's foreign policy fostered stronger ties with the Middle East through expanded
trade. In addition, Pakistani workers employed in the Persian Gulf states, Libya, and Iran
provided remittances to Pakistan that were a major source of foreign-exchange earnings.
The loss of remittances caused by the 1991 Persian Gulf War was a serious concern to
Pakistan. During the war, Pakistani units were sent to Saudi Arabia as components of the
multinational forces. Pakistan has also contributed to the defense systems of several Arab
states, supplying both officers and men. Pakistan has strengthened its Islamic ties by
playing a leading role in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and has also
supported the Palestinian cause, withholding recognition of Israel.

Pakistan's ties with Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states were strained during the
1990-91 crisis in the gulf. Although a member of the United States-led international
coalition, Pakistan played only a limited role, sending a force of 11,000 troops tasked
with "protecting" religious sites in Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, during the war a vocal
segment of public opinion in Pakistan supported ousting the Kuwaiti monarch and
approved of Saddam Husayn's defiance of the United States-led coalition. The then chief
of the army staff, General Mirza Aslam Beg, also expressed support for Iraq, resulting in
further embarrassment for Pakistan's government. Following the Persian Gulf War,
Pakistan undertook diplomatic efforts to recover its position in the region. In addition,
many Pakistani expatriate workers returned to their jobs, and cooperative defense training
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activities continued. As a result, Pakistan largely restored its position as an influential

player in the region.

The United States and the West

Although Pakistan's foreign policy has been dominated by problems with India as well as
by efforts to maximize its own external support, its relationship with the West,
particularly Britain and the United States, was of major importance. At independence in
1947, Pakistan became a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. After
independence Pakistan retained Britons in high administrative and military positions.
Britain also was the primary source of military supplies and officer training. Many of
Pakistan's key policy makers, including the nation's founding father, Mohammad Ali
Jinnah, had studied in Britain and had great faith in the British sense of justice. Over the
years, however, there was disillusionment at what Pakistanis perceived as Britain's
indifference toward Pakistan and its failure to treat Pakistan fairly in dealings where India
was involved. Nevertheless, Pakistan remained in the Commonwealth even after the
country became a republic under the constitution of 1956. Pakistan withdrew its
membership in the Commonwealth in 1972 to protest the recognition of Bangladesh by
Britain, Australia, and New Zealand but rejoined in October 1989 under Benazir's first
government.

Pakistan's relations with the United States developed against the backdrop of the Cold
War. Pakistan's strategic geographic position made it a valuable partner in Western
alliance systems to contain the spread of communism. In 1954 Pakistan signed a Mutual
Defense Agreement with the United States and subsequently became a member of the
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) and CENTO. These agreements placed
Pakistan in the United States sphere of influence. Pakistan was also used as a base for
United States military reconnaissance flights over Soviet territory. During the Cold War
years, Pakistan was considered one of Washington's closest allies in Asia.

Pakistan, in return, received large amounts of economic and military assistance. The
program of military assistance continued until the 1965 Indo-Pakistani War when
President Lyndon B. Johnson placed an embargo on arms shipments to Pakistan and
India. The United States embargo on arms shipments to Pakistan remained in place
during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and was not lifted until 1975, during the
administration of President Gerald R. Ford.

United States-Pakistani relations preceding the 1971 war were characterized by poor
communication and much confusion. The administration of President Richard M. Nixon
was forced to formulate a public stance on the brutal crackdown on East Pakistanis by
West Pakistani troops that began in March 25, 1971, and it maintained that the crackdown
was essentially an internal affair of Pakistan in which direct intervention of outside
powers was to be avoided. The Nixon administration expressed its concern about human
rights violations to Pakistan and restricted the flow of assistance--yet it stopped short of
an open condemnation.
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Despite the United States widely publicized "tilt" toward Pakistan during the 1971 war,
Pakistan's new leader, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, felt betrayed. In his opinion, the United States
could have prevented India from intervening in Pakistan's civil war, thereby saving his
country the trauma of defeat and dismemberment. Bhutto now strove to lessen Pakistan's
dependence on the United States.

The foreign policy Bhutto envisioned would place Pakistan at the forefront of Islamic
nations. Issues central to the developing world would take precedence in foreign affairs
over those of the superpowers. Bhutto called this policy "bilateralism," which implied
neutrality in the Cold War with equal treatment accorded both superpowers. Bhutto's
distancing of Islamabad from Washington and other Western links was accompanied by
Pakistan's renewed bid for leadership in the developing world.

Following the loss of the East Wing, Pakistan withdrew from SEATO. Pakistan's military
links with the West continued to decline throughout Bhutto's tenure in power and into the
first years of the Zia regime. CENTO was disbanded following the fall of the shah of Iran
in March 1979, and Pakistan then joined the Nonaligned Movement. Zia also continued
Bhutto's policy of developing Pakistan's nuclear capability. This policy had originated as
a defensive measure in reaction to India's explosion of a nuclear device in 1974. In April
1979, President Jimmy Carter cut off economic assistance to Pakistan, except for food
assistance, as required under the Symington Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961. This amendment called for ceasing economic assistance to nonnuclear weapon
countries that imported uranium-enrichment technology. Relations between the United
States and Pakistan were further strained in November 1979 when protesters sacked the
United States embassy in Islamabad, resulting in the death of four persons. The violence
had been sparked by a false report that the United States was involved in a fire at the
Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979 revived the close relationship
between Pakistan and the United States. Initially, however, the Carter administration's
offer the following month of US$400 million in economic and military aid to Pakistan
was spurned by Zia, who termed it "peanuts." Under President Ronald Reagan, the
United States agreed in 1981 to provide US$3.2 billion to Pakistan over a period of six
years, equally divided between economic and military assistance. However, although the
Symington Amendment was waived, the amount was subject to the annual appropriation
process. A second economic and military assistance program was announced in 1986, this
time for over US$4.0 billion, with 57 percent for economic assistance. The continuation
of the war in Afghanistan led to waivers--in the case of Pakistan--of legislative
restrictions on providing aid to countries with nuclear programs. The Pressler
Amendment of 1985 required that if the United States president could not certify to
Congress on an annual basis that Pakistan did not possess a nuclear weapon, United
States assistance to that country would be cut off. For several years, the United States
president, with Pakistan's assurances that its nuclear program was for peaceful uses, was
able to make this certification. However, with the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in
1989 and the end of the Cold War, the United States took a harder position on the nuclear
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weapons issue. In 1990 President George Bush refused to make the certification required
under the Pressler Amendment, and assistance to Pakistan was subsequently terminated.

After 1990 Pakistan's retention of the nuclear option became a defining issue in its
relations with the United States. Pakistan, like India, considered the Treaty on the
Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons to be discriminatory--allowing the five
acknowledged nuclear states to keep their weapons while banning others from joining the
club. Pakistan declared that it would sign the treaty only in the unlikely event that India
did so first. India refused to join any regional accord as long as China possessed nuclear
weapons. Although the United States government continued to push both India and
Pakistan for a regional solution to the threat of nuclear weapons proliferation, Pakistan
complained that it bore the brunt of United States antiproliferation policies.

The underpinnings of the long and close security relationship between the United States
and Pakistan existed as of early 1994, although the 1954 Mutual Defense Agreement on
which the relationship rested was increasingly regarded by some in the United States
government as outdated--and thus less pertinent to the post-Cold War period. Moreover,
despite Pakistan's differences with the position of the United States on nuclear and other
issues, both countries were determined to maintain friendly relations.

International Organizations

Pakistan joined the UN on September 30, 1947, and has been an active participant in the
UN and its specialized agencies and other bodies, as well as in various specialized UN
conferences. In 1993 Pakistan was elected to a two-year term on the UN Security
Council. In addition, Pakistani nationals have contributed their skills within the UN itself.
For example, in 1987, Nafis Sadik, a Pakistani woman physician, became executive
director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) with the rank of undersecretary
general. Pakistan has also been the recipient of assistance from UN development
organizations, including the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in a variety of fields such as agriculture, water
and sanitation, national planning, and human development. The UNDP, for example,
allocated more than US$87 million for assistance to Pakistan for the 1992-96 program
period.

Pakistan's view of the UN has necessarily been conditioned by its own needs and
experience. Although recognizing the shortcomings and powerlessness of the UN in
many situations, Pakistan has seen no alternative to the UN as a forum where weaker
countries could appeal to the world's conscience against the actions of stronger powers.
Consequently, Pakistan has called for solutions to international problems through UN
auspices, most notably for resolution of the Kashmir issue. Pakistan also played a highly
visible role in UN peacekeeping efforts, contributing more than 7,000 troops to the
United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM)--the largest single national contingent
to any peacekeeping force in early 1994. Pakistan had troops serving with the United
Nations Protection Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNPROFOR BH) and had
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participating observers in a number of other UN mission (see Foreign Security

Relationships , ch. 5).

Pakistan's participation in other international organizations, including SAARC and the

ECO, reflect its desire to be an influential player in the geographic region of which it is a
part. In addition, Pakistan has played a leading role in the OIC, and President Zia was
instrumental in revitalizing the OIC as a forum for periodic meetings of the heads of
Islamic states. Pakistan thus appears firmly committed to the utility of broadbased
international cooperation.

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