by M. J. AKBAR
Uncertainty is the chaotic force-multiplier of insecurity. That is the only explanation, if there is one, for a curious statement made by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. When Gilani clambers aboard, he does tend to go overboard with a consistency that is clearly becoming a comfort to foes and an embarrassment to friends.
Pakistan’s foreign policy is guided by professional diplomats who have, in a sense, no option except to be exceptional, given the scale and continuity of the challenges they face. But when politicians rush into space where diplomats fear to tread, there is a lot of cleaning up to do for the service.
Gilani topped off a four-day visit to China with a claim that will surely enter the history books. Pakistan and China, he said, were “like one nation and two countries”.
We shall not discuss the fine distinction between nation and country, except to note that the prime minister could have easily interchanged the terms without significant loss of meaning in his personal political dictionary. For mere outsiders, a question is inescapable: has Pakistan repositioned itself as the new Hong Kong?
Beijing has not let us know whether it has accepted this generous offer by the world’s most powerful Islamic republic to become an associate member of the world’s most important atheist state. But it has given a ‘back-present’ to Gilani of 50 fighter jets, which may or may not be a symbol of shared nationalism.
Perhaps there was a spirit of competitive genuflection in the Gilani delegation. His defence minister Ahmad Mukhtar told the media on his return to Islamabad that his government had gifted an entire naval base to China, at Gwadar, on the mouth of the Gulf.
His exact words left no room for confusion: “We have asked our Chinese brothers to please build a naval base at Gwadar.” He added that China had been invited to manage the port’s commercial operations as well, despite the fact that a Singapore company has a multi-decade contract for doing so. When Mukhtar gets generous, Singapore become irrelevant.
Similar passion and clarity were missing in the Chinese response. Jiang Yu, a spokesman of the Chinese foreign ministry, responded with a far less dramatic “…I have not heard of it. It’s my understanding that during the [Gilani] visit last week this issue was not touched upon”.
Dawn for more