Islamabad [Pakistan]: Pakistan’s so-called ‘geostrategic location’ now stands as a relic of a bygone era despite once being considered a gateway between the West and the East, The News International reported.
Pakistan has been struggling to keep pace with the shifting tides of global power and influence and Islamabad finds itself isolated from the global arena. Children in Pakistan are taught about Pakistan’s geostrategic position as Islamabad used to get an extraordinary amount of benefits by being located in this specific zone, as per the news report.
As per the news report, it is history that Pakistan received dollars. The most important events that took place in the past 75 years of Pakistan’s history just happened to be passing by its locality, including the US withdrawal from Afghanistan.
The report said that had Pakistan not entered the West wing and remained non-aligned, the so-called ‘geostrategic location’ would be non-existent, and thus would not have entered the discourse at all.
The US alliance was a big source of dollars in the presently bankrupt state for the most part of its inception. The American troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan was the last of the US’ asks for Islamabad. Since then, a sad state of affairs has prevailed for lawmakers in Islamabad, as per The News International report.
Pakistan is near default and utterly clueless about what lies ahead of it. Although, Pakistan continues to remain in the same position. However, it no longer enjoys the exploits that it used to have earlier, as per the news report.
The Taiwan issue and activities in the South China Sea are now of particular importance to the US. The US needs support in the region to counter the rise of China. However, Washington will not choose Pakistan for support against China due to ties between Beijing and Islamabad.
For the US, India is an ideal choice to partner with amid the Chinese expansion. The ties between India and US relations are at their peak right now. The US Indo-Pacific policy has named India as its biggest strategic partner in the Indian Ocean, according to The News International report.
India is projected to become the third-largest economy in a few years and is also located in the same vicinity as Pakistan. India has an outstanding foreign policy, which has been reaffirmed multiple times by the international community, as per the news report.
Pakistan was once among the biggest beneficiaries of American imperialism. However, Pakistan’s policymakers did not take action beyond receiving military aid and they even did not make a plan for receiving dollars, according to The News International report. The result of neglect has resulted in the form of a crippled economy, record-high brain drain and inflation.
The positional shift in US imperialism will no longer benefit Islamabad. Pakistan is struggling to receive a loan to pay off the debt. It is imperative for Pakistan to understand and redefine national interests to avoid isolation on the regional and global levels. The report called on Pakistan to mend its ties with India as New Delhi and restore trade needs as India is a burgeoning regional and global economic power.
