RAWALPINDI: Speakers at a webinar on Saturday said Pakistan should revisit its geopolitical strategic and economic framework in the context of the changing landscape of the world, especially of the Asia-Pacific region.

The country is being surrounded by many severe security and economic challenges. Meanwhile, political instability is playing an enemy within economic growth, foreign investment and dynamic foreign policy.

They said Pakistan would be marking ten years of CPEC (China-Pakistan Economic Corridor) in 2023, and 25 years since Pakistan went nuclear in 1998.

The webinar was organised by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan) on Saturday. The subject of the webinar was ‘Pakistan’s geopolitical repositioning in 2023’.

The key speakers included Senate Standing Committee of Defence Production Chairman Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, former speaker Balochistan assembly Rahila Durrani, Senior Research fellow at East-East Institute (London) Dr Najam Abbas, development expert Tahir Shamshad, Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed and an Indian journalist, Ayan Mitra (Bengal).

Senator Mushahid Hussain mentioned three key global changes that Pakistan will be affected by. The present era is marked by profound changes in the global and regional order, which has strategic implications for Pakistan.

There’s the retrenchment of US power in the Muslim World, the resurgence of Asia led by China and the rise of Hindutva in neighbouring India.

Perhaps the most important statement of 2022 that sums up this tectonic shift of global power was made by the French President Macron, who told French diplomats in August 2022 that “the era of Western hegemony is coming to an end”.

Senator Mushahid Hussain said the other two elements include the return to two global camps; the US-Nato versus China-Russia while the Ukraine war has led to a North-South divide.

“Pakistan must pursue its role as a hub of regional connectivity, while strengthening ties with its core partners like China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. It shall maintain economic and cultural outreach to the West, especially to the US and Europe, and avoid repeating the old mistakes it did in Afghanistan. Most importantly, Pakistan needs a ‘political ceasefire’ at home on key issues like economy, extremism, education, so that people get a respite from this unending polarisation and continuing quest for power,” he said.

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed said with the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia the world has moved into a new era of great power competition. China is the primary rival to the US supremacy and in Asia the two superpowers are contenders for hegemony in the same geographical space.

He said the US was vying to maintain its decades-old supremacy in the region while China has built up partnerships and projected its influence by using the huge resources at its disposal. The Ukraine and increasing Indian influence at Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and G-20 is worrisome for internally divided and economically weaker Pakistan.

Rahila Durrani said Balochistan’s strategic role is not being understood, and the indigenous voices remain out of the mainstream agenda. The federal does not show the required seriousness on Balochistan problems. “I feel that we do not get the time required to resolve them.”

Published in Dawn, january 1st, 2023