Every passing day of this year proves that Pakistan shines as a star of peace on the diplomatic horizon. By mediating the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding between Iran and the US, Pakistan’s name has undoubtedly been written in golden letters in world history forever.
Following the success of the Islamabad Memorandum, Pakistan is being praised globally as a responsible, trustworthy and effective diplomatic force. The international recognition of the Iranian President’s recent visit to Islamabad further reflects Pakistan’s pivotal role in the rapidly changing global landscape.
Currently, the international media is trying to understand how Pakistan achieved the incredible feat of successfully holding peace talks by bringing staunch opponents like the US and Iran together. To find the answer, we must look back to May last year, when the great defensive victory in the airspace of the eastern border revealed Pakistan’s military power, professionalism, and determination to the world. Faced with the aggressive policies and provocative actions of its powerful neighbour, Pakistan demonstrated restraint, wisdom and strong defence preparedness.
On that critical occasion, the entire Pakistani nation stood by our armed forces, and the world saw that Pakistan, which desires peace, is ready at every level to protect its sovereignty and national interests. Some time later, when Iran faced aggression, Islamabad’s call for peace began to echo extensively throughout the world. I still remember that dark night when the world watched with pleading eyes toward President Trump, waiting to see how he would act on his threat to wipe out Iran’s centuries-old civilisation.
However, at midnight, the prime minister of Pakistan’s tweet requesting a ceasefire changed the situation impressively. At a time when the skies of war-torn Iran were dominated by external aggressive forces, and Iran’s top political and military leadership had been removed, the visit of Pakistan’s courageous COAS-CDF Field Marshal Asim Munir to Tehran astonished the entire world.
Amid security challenges, border tensions and growing differences among global powers, the Middle East became more vulnerable, yet Pakistan shone as a ray of hope on the diplomatic horizon. The effects of the remarkable success on the defence front are also becoming clearly visible internationally.
It has been a principle of world politics that strong defence is the basis of effective diplomacy. When a country is capable of protecting its borders, national interests and people, its voice carries weight at the regional and global levels. The unconquerable defence gave the government of Pakistan the confidence to pursue effective diplomacy on the issue of Iran.
The exemplary coordination between the military and political leadership, through the Islamabad Memorandum, once again convinced the world that Pakistan believes in dialogue, cooperation, and diplomatic solutions.
Today, the entire nation feels proud of our leadership, which protected Pakistan’s interests in extremely critical circumstances and raised the prestige of the beloved homeland around the world. Today, by the grace of God Almighty, Pakistan has emerged on the global stage as a responsible country capable of playing a constructive role in the best possible way toward the long-term peaceful resolution of conflicts.
In my view, when the world recognises a militarily strong, democratic and sovereign country as a guarantor of world peace and regional stability, numerous opportunities for investment, trade and economic cooperation automatically increase. Pakistan’s recent diplomatic successes have also strengthened the confidence of foreign investors, which can result in stabilising our national economy and opening new doors for tourism, trade, regional integration and international partnerships.
However, current circumstances demand that we utilise the recent positive developments to achieve our national interests, especially for the prosperity of the people of Pakistan.
The writer is a member of the National Assembly and patron-in-chief of the Pakistan Hindu Council. He tweets/posts @RVankwani
