China supports Pakistan in light of its fight against terror to promote peace

By Shafei Moiz Hali

US President Donald Trump announced his strategy for the war in Afghanistan during an address from Fort Myer, Virginia, US yesterday. In his address the major outlines of the new AfPak policy were business as usual. He outlined in a vague manner that America is in it to win it, as victory will have a “clear definition”, we will “not dictate to the Afghan people how to live”, “we must stop the resurgence of safe havens”, “Afghans will build and secure their own nation”, America’s contribution in this war is not going to be unlimited, more is expected out of America’s partner’s “our support is not a blank cheque”. The unique part about the new AfPak policy consisted of two elements; the first unique aspect was brought by President Trump’s unique manner of outlining policy and he did not abstain from his habit in this aspect also, he referred to the terrorists as; “losers” and the second unique part was that he highlighted India and prompted it to take a more assertive role in Afghanistan. This move by President Trump has many ramifications. With Trump’s policy for the region the acronym of the AfPak policy needs to be changed to Af-Pak-In policy with the “In” for India. Secondly India is not even a direct neighbor of Afghanistan and its involvement in Afghanistan troubles the already set platforms for peace established by neighboring China and Pakistan who have high stakes in establishing peace in Afghanistan, plus both China and Pakistan currently have disputes with India at the borders of both countries. In the case of China, India has made illegal crossings at the Chinese undisputed territory of Dong Lang (Doklam) area and is aggravating the situation by not recognizing its errors. In the case of Pakistan, India has a long standing Kashmir dispute over which 4 wars have been fought, yet it remains unresolved. 

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain (R) meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan, on June 25, 2017.[Photo：Xinhua]

The other major point worth noting from President Trump’s speech at Fort Myer consisted of bashing Pakistan for the problems faced in Afghanistan by the US troops. In the past the US have used this strategy of pressurizing Pakistan to enhance its efforts against terrorism with the “do more”, “safe havens for terrorists in Pakistan” and the “un secure nuclear arsenal of Pakistan” mantra. Once again President Trump sang that tune, but what was surprising about President Trump’s address was that the pitch of his tune was much higher than his predecessors. President Trump said; “Today 20 us designated foreign terrorist organization are concentrated in Afghanistan and Pakistan…Pakistan often gives safe havens to agents of chaos, violence and terror. We can be no longer silent for Pakistan’s safe havens for terrorist organizations that pose a threat to the region and beyond. Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our efforts in Afghanistan, it has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists. In the past Pakistan has been a valued partner our military has worked against common enemies. The Pakistani people have suffered greatly from terrorism and extremism, we recognize those contributions and those sacrifices but Pakistan has sheltered those same organizations that try every single day to kill our people. We have been paying Pakistan billions of dollars at the same time they are housing the vary terrorists that we are fighting, this will happen no more.” 

Upon such harsh words used against Pakistan and the utter rejection of the price of blood and money paid by Pakistan as it has been highlighted time and again that the price of sacrifices paid by Pakistan is much heavier than the economic assistance it has gained from the US. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying affirmed this fact and said, "The international community should fully affirm the efforts by Pakistan," Pakistan was on the front line in the struggle against terrorism and had made "great sacrifices" and "important contributions" in the fight, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry handout. These words of confidence from China go a long way in support for Pakistan. The two countries are “all-weather” friends and partners whose bond is gaining strength by a shared vision of the Belt and Road initiative. 

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 22 reinforced China’s support for Pakistan through a formal meeting with Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua. This meeting took place merely hours after US President Trump stated, “In Afghanistan and Pakistan, America’s interests are clear; we must stop the resurgence of safe havens that have enabled terrorists to threaten America. We must prevent nuclear weapons and material from coming in to the hands of terrorists and being used against us or anywhere in the world.” 

From the meeting between Yi and Janjua it was revealed that Pakistan and China would continue cooperating with each other closely in efforts to establish peace in Afghanistan and more emphasis will be given to the trilateral Afghanistan-China-Pakistan foreign ministers' forum. The forum was established in June when Mr. Wang Yi visited Islamabad on a mission to defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Mr. Yi reiterated Chunying's statement by lauding Pakistan's contributions and sacrifices in the fight against terrorism and added that the international community should fully recognize these efforts. The trilateral Afghanistan-China-Pakistan foreign ministers' forum is a major Chinese success story as it helped defuse tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and is paving the way forward for peace and trade. Instead of negating and neglecting Pakistan’s efforts in the war on terror, the international community needs to take a page from China’s play book for brokering peace. The Pakistani people as well as the government recognizes China’s endeavors for peace and friendship that is why on Tuesday, Pakistan’s Foreign Secretary Tehmina Janjua highlighted the importance of Sino-Pak relations and said, "China and Pakistan are not only iron brothers as President Xi Jinping has said, but also steel sisters."

The concerns implied by president Trump regarding Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal falling in to the hands of the terrorists are preposterously farfetched and the odds of this happening have the same probability as that of a zombie apocalypse. This concern is only a pressure tactic as it has been addressed time and again. Had it been a genuine threat, The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, would not consider Pakistan's nuclear program “safe and secure”. Another point worth mentioning is that, nuclear weapons are sophisticated weapon system which are dismantled and various components are stored and secured at various secret locations and they are not like tennis balls which the terrorists can steal and hide in their under arms and run away with. Similarly there exists an anti thesis regarding the argument about terrorist safe havens in Pakistan. Pakistan has been conducting one military operation with full force after another at its border region with Afghanistan and Pakistani security personnel argue that, whenever the Pakistani security personnel are in hot pursuit of these terrorists they hide within the safe havens in Afghanistan. China fully understands the problems faced by Pakistan and continues to support Pakistan and like China, The international community needs to support Pakistan and should recognize the importance and the role of Pakistan in the global war on terror. 

(Dr. Shafei Moiz Hali studied at George Mason University, Virginia, USA and specialized in the field of International Commerce and Policy. He did his PhD from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China specializing in Chinese foreign policy focusing on the Belt and Road Initiative, security issues and energy issues. Currently Dr. Hali is an Assistant Professor at the National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad, Pakistan with the department of Government and Public Policy.)