A changing world

The increasing power of Eastern players – China and Russia – has created concerns for the West, especially the US. The US is trying hard to use all its resources, allies and even Nato to put pressure on both to secure its relevance in the ever-changing world order since the Covid-19 pandemic took the world by storm, impacting the world’s biggest economies and imposing lockdowns.

The Trump administration almost messed up America’s diplomatic affairs and completely polarised the domestic political landscape. People voted for Joe Biden to become their new president and start mending the foreign policy blunders committed by Trump.

The hatred, anger and opposition generated by the US’s role in Afghanistan, a hybrid war with Iran and supporting Israel against Palestinians has further added to the mess. With its Ukraine invasion, the Russians shocked America and other Nato allies which have now imposed sanctions on Russia.

Meanwhile, the vacuum left by the US has been filled by China by helping the developing nations through the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. With the Taliban signing various agreements with China, it is evident that the mess left by the so-called superpower is being cleaned to reset relations with global and regional powers.

In an ever-changing world order, China has positioned itself tactfully, leaving the US stranded to the extent that a close ally as mentioned by the US has turned its back and joined the party with Russia and China for a global reset of diplomatic relations. Though Pakistan has always delivered and facilitated the US, the country paid a heavy price for this – sacrificing thousands of civilians and soldiers fighting against terrorism. When the time for payback came, the US withdrew support on all key matters.

Inflation in Pakistan is exploding, and the prices of daily use items are skyrocketing with the levy of taxes and price hikes in petroleum prices. In such circumstances, US support on issues such as the FATF etc would have been vital to maintain the ever-depleting foreign exchange reserves.

Saudi Arabia, UAE and China came forward and offered help in kind so that foreign exchange reserves did not drop further, and trade was not as impacted. As it would have been

Russia has been trying to regain its past glory, especially in the days of the Soviet Union. It has clear plans in place to regain and re-annexe Ukraine or the parts where separatist movements are in place. Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union like all the independent Central Asian states such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan etc. Russia is trying to resurrect the East block or somewhat the Soviet Union, taking the fullest advantage of an inactive America due to a flawed, autocratic and Israel-centric foreign policy that has impacted its global status and led to resistance to its anti-Muslim policies, especially towards Iran, Palestine and Afghanistan.

The tremors of change are echoing, and countries have started sorting ways to engage, align or realign their diplomatic policies given the circumstances of the world order.

Security and foreign policy experts are of the view that with the ever-increasing interventions in the region via socio-economic projects by China’s President Jinping, the US has had some sleepless nights. This has been followed by the Russian military’s actions in Ukraine. Needless to say, it has been difficult for the US to swallow this rather bitter pill.

But as peace lovers, we need to expect restraint from mighty Russia now. An invasion of another country is not a wise move. And we must recall that Afghan soil was used to disintegrate the Soviet Union and the same is being used against the US due to a cynical power game.

It is pivotal for the leadership of Muslim countries including Pakistan to watch out and realign sensibly as they may face some issues. China enjoys great power and it has displayed it during skirmishes with Indian forces in Ladakh. India has been a die-hard ally of the US and is now being grilled on all sides by global power parleys.

We also have the Kashmir issue to think of. Fascism and radicalism rule the roost in Modi’s India, making the lives of minorities – especially Muslims – miserable. The recent incident of the Muslim girl, Muskan’s, hijab resistance has gone viral, and India has come under criticism across the world.

It is imperative for world powers to understand the dimensions and position themselves in the new world order – some even call it the CHina order since its giant economy keeps flourishing even in a debilitating pandemic situation. Wars and battles bring misery to the world, and it is imperative that instead of heading towards misery and destruction, the world must adhere to peace and make joint efforts to prevent wars to secure the world.

On its part, Pakistan should avoid becoming part of any bloc at the moment – given the complex and serious circumstances that may create problems if bigwigs like the US, Russia and Nato forces too all double down on their respective stance in the region. It would be sensible to stay non-aligned to any bloc or group so that Pakistan does not pay the price as happened in Afghanistan.

Current and aspiring superpowers would do well to remember that these new fronts are a throwback to what happened in the cold-war era or during the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan by both the US and the then Soviet Union as both sustained a heavy setback afterwards, both politically and economically .

Sensibly, Prime Minister Imran Khan has reiterated in various interviews and statements that Pakistan is not going to be part of any bloc given the myriad outlook of issues that now many nations are faced with.