The opportunity for Pakistan to establish a new Order: Reflections on the recent PK-KSA Security Pact

“If you have received a wound, they have received a similar wound. Such days We rotate among the people, so that Allah may know those who believe and let some of you be martyrs — and Allah does not like the unjust.” (3:140)

The variables of geo-politics are susceptible and reluctant to change, due to the complex nature of the respective social, economic, political, and intellectual landscapes; but when they do, they bring forth tremendous shifts, both quantitative and qualitative, on the chessboard for those with stakes (and those who care).

The world map, after 1947, changed fast; fast enough to shift the attention towards the miracles of the idea of autonomous government based on the interests of a demographic, selected by a demographic, protected by the lines formed by their predecessors, deciding for their ultimate futures, confined and babysat by an international order to maintain “stability and peace.”

The freedom of decision and authority did not come without a cost: it took collaboration, altruism, unity — something as early as the next generation of inhabitants were to forget about — attributes which were instilled by the Creator of the heavens and earth, stripped by the post-modern order of Geo-politics from man. The idea of the resultant landscape was not far-fetched:

• Confined variables will manifest their true nature of dominance on the weak (CHECK);
• The ideas of “self-growth” will outgrow the NATURAL order of things (CHECK);
• The notions of “what could be” will replace those of “what should be” (CHECK);
• Collaboration on the international scale, that hints towards a new order, howsoever it be, will not be allowed: African order initiated by Libya — neutralized; attempts to build a South American order — neutralized; a hint towards an Islamic order in the 20th century — neutralized. (CHECK)

The presence of a “Big Brother,” to use George Orwell’s idea, is as bright as the day in geo-politics; an order that is to be protected at all costs.

But the landscapes are evolving, global dynamics shifting; economic systems crumbling under the vicious cycles of debt; political affiliations reconsidered; energy alternatives explored. Everyone is trying to find a corner in this turmoil. Energy alternatives, political alliances, technological prowess, and stable GDP are what everyone is looking for, and the case of Pakistan and Pakistanis (us) is no different.

Pakistan’s foreign policy was like that of a bipolar disorder patient: shifting from one pole to another. Exploring options with the East is considered a PR obligation, and exploring options with the West was simply an obligation. But the global landscape is changing, and so should the tilt of Pakistan. Formal collaboration and alliances are what is making Europe (through NATO), China (through BRI and its big and diverse portfolio of FDI), and —for that matter— Israel (through strategic partnerships, all thanks to the US) survive in these turbulent and unstable times.

Everybody realized the longing Pakistan has for brotherhood after the recent Pact between KSA & PK, and the global impact of one nation standing up for another — especially the Pakistanis. As stated at the start of the article, the global variables do not change often, but when they do, they bring forth huge qualitative and quantitative opportunities — and this pact has provided us with both.

There are two key players in the politics of Asia: China and KSA — one with intellectual and engineering prowess, and the latter with the enabler of that: fuel. As time has unfolded, Pakistan can prove to be a conjunction point for both of the players, as both the players are aspiring to become global champions — one chasing a global connectivity project, supplemented by their huge foreign investments, and the other chasing an alternative model for Economy by become a Commerce and tourism center. Pakistan, by solidifying and formalizing the already-made partnership between both the countries (a $2 billion contract signed between both in September this year), could connect not only KSA and China, but Turkey (with its already somewhat good relationship with the eastern bloc and tensions with NATO), Malaysia, Africa, Bangladesh, UAE, and Qatar in the first phase, with a solid pitch of security exchange, connectivity, guaranteed FDI, increased tourism — all these with a complementary parcel of Chinese tech and alliance, thus restoring Chinese trust for PK, and leveraging the current hype of the KSA security pact to capture more pawns in the race.

The idea of an Islamic NATO is not as far-fetched as it seems — political scientists and commentators like Juan Cole are talking about this. The same reason KSA and PK tied a knot should be presented to other prospects too, specifically Arabs, which are notably:

1. The current Israeli attack on Qatar, engaging Lebanon, Syria, Yemeni Houthis, and Hamas should not make the Arabs (and Iranians) think that they are out of the radar — thus security guarantee is necessary (a guarantee with a free nuclear umbrella).
2. The alliance would safeguard the interests of every nation too, as it did for KSA — for example, securing its civilian nuclear program by binding itself with PK (and China indirectly).
3. With each passing month, a global recession seems very plausible, as economists are suggesting — thus ensuring global economic connectivity.

Predictions are one of those things that can’t be done, given the complex relation between variables in the global calculus — but the current timing and global resurgence of the notions of connectivity and alternative options and considerations in politics bring Pakistan to the center of a possible hypothetical, powerful global alliance of Islamic nations, and to reconsider the strategy and dynamics to execute such a project — learning from the failures and successes of movements + restoring the state’s image, damaged by the political drama happening for the last three years.