Pakistan's Foreign Policy: An Analysis of Pakistani Fears and Interests

Abstract

Every country pursues her foreign policy in accordance with her national interests. These interests depend upon a number of factors like cultural and historical traditions, geography, economic and political objectives. But in this medley of interests there often is an overriding objective which is not based purely on rational considerations. Every country has a ruling passion in her foreign policy. When one calls it a passion, one is not suggesting that this is something entirely emotional or irrational. It may be based on genuine fears and hatreds which have accumulated over the years and which may be intertwined with material and religious considerations. Pakistan is no exception to this. Indeed very few countries were born in an atmosphere surcharged with intense illwill and mutual hatred as Pakistan was in 1947 as a result of the partition of the sub-continent. Almost every action of Pakistan can be interpreted as being motivated by fear of India. She complains that India opposed her very formation and that her policy of intense hostility continues unabated. India, both in manpower and material and military strength, is vastly superior to Pakistan. Before India's border clash with China, even with the aid Pakistan was receiving from the United States, her armed forces never exceeded more than one-third of India's strength. After sixteen years of Pakistan's independent existence, and even after India's humiliating defeat in the border clash with China, Mr. Nehru in an inter. view declared that Indo-Pakistani confederation remains our ultimate end.' Similarly, Pakistan alleges that India has been promoting subversive activity in East Pakistan and that in the event of a military conflict her first and relatively easy target would be East Pakistan. American aid to India has only accentuated Pakistan's fear in the sense that a well. equipped Indian army meant for China in the North-East Frontier Agency would be so positioned as to be able to wheel round swiftly to attack East Pakistan.2 Thus, Dawn in an editorial observed: If the main concern of the Christian West is the containment of Chinese Communism, the main concern of Muslim Pakistan is the containment of militarist and militant Hinduism.v3 One may find all this a bit exaggerated, but the fact remains that Pakistan joined the various defense pacts with the United States largely to protect her interests against the future aggression of