KARACHI – The US-China confrontation for Global Dominance and Pakistan’s Foreign Policy options were discussed in the webinar organized by The Global and Regional studies Center, IoBM on Saturday, March 20, 2021. Ambassador Asif Ali Khan Durrani and Lt General Naeem Khalid Lodhi (Retd) HI(M) discussed key insights.
Ambassador Ghulam Rasool Baluch was the moderator. Lt Gen (Retd) Lodhi viewed that any tension between US-China will affect the world as well as Pakistan. China may be on a path to change the world economic order by countering the power of the Dollar. With CPEC in the offing, Lt Gen (Retd) Lodhi opined that Pakistan must act strategically as China, India, and Afghanistan are a part of CPEC. Looking at the history and proximity, he said that Pakistan needs to shift towards the East – specifically China and Russia.
Ambassador Durrani said that the Belt and Road Initiative will be China’s key project. Pakistan must observe which countries are playing a positive role in its economic security. According to Amb. Durrani, the US turned into a Hyperpower and was entangled in several direct and indirect global military conflicts, while China as an emerging power did not involve itself in any confrontation.
The panelists agreed that Pakistan needs a strong regional policy to set smooth ties for its economic development. While summarizing the key recommendations in his closing remarks, Amb. Baluch said that it is not inevitable to see a military confrontation between the US and China as such a confrontation would have devastating global effects. He said that Pakistan should not drag itself into a new cold war and continue to follow a policy of cooperation with the US and China. He added that Pakistan cannot compromise on its principled stance on Kashmir, and must maintain its military preparedness as well as its economic independence.
Pakistan should leverage its centuries-old ethnic and cultural links with Afghanistan and continue to play a key role in the peace-building process. Iran is an important neighbor and Pakistan could help facilitate reconciling its ties with Saudi Arabia and the US.
