Pakistan’s elite seeks regional standing through ties with West Asia — Dawn
In Pakistan, the ruling elite seeks to strengthen the country’s regional standing by deepening ties with West Asia and the Persian Gulf states. At the same time, foreign-policy gains contrast with domestic political and economic problems, Dawn reports.
The author of the article believes that Pakistan’s role in the region has strengthened following Trump’s peace plan for Gaza, the memorandum of understanding in Islamabad, and the Makkah Accord on joint defence. However, in his assessment, domestic political and economic conditions diminish the effect of these foreign successes.
Ties with West Asia
As the author notes, Pakistan’s elite may be prepared to take politically risky steps for the sake of domestic stability, including a large-scale administrative reform involving the creation of new provinces. At the same time, Pakistan is deepening ties with West Asia to strengthen its defence capabilities and strategic weight.
The article states that Pakistan is gradually moving away from its former strategy of “strategic depth,” meaning attempts to expand influence into neighbouring territories. The author links the new course to Pakistan’s confrontation with India, which is significantly larger in territory and military power.
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Pakistan and Turkey, in the author’s assessment, share similar “geographical anxiety”: their military capabilities and ambitions do not fully correspond to the territories they control, while opportunities for expansion are limited. Turkey responds to this through regional groupings, alliances, and transnational Turkic partnerships.
State control over religion
The author also writes about a state-centred ideological reorientation in Pakistan. In his view, the elite seeks to keep religion under state control, give national interests priority over transnational Islamic solidarity, and centralise control over security and foreign policy.
The emerging model may combine Mohammed bin Salman’s state-controlled “moderate Islam,” the combination of nationalism, military rule, and state-regulated religious discourse in Egypt under Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as well as Turkey’s religious-conservative identity, nationalism, and defence-industrial ambitions.
The author draws a parallel with the Baghdad Pact of the mid-1950s, which included Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, and the United Kingdom. At the time, Pakistan was regarded as the alliance’s most stable regional partner, while the current ruling elite, the article claims, seeks to restore the country’s position among the leading middle powers of the Muslim world.
