It should be unusual for a year starting with a rebuke to end with a pat on the back. But Pakistan managed to do exactly that in 2018. The South Asian country saw its relations with the United States, India and Afghanistan oscillate. On the other hand, ties improved with China, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates while touching base with Turkey and Malaysia. Pakistan also witnessed a new government being voted to power amid the drumbeat of corruption.
On the first day of the year, US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of 'lies and deceit' in a tweet and suspended $255 million of military aid.
Pakistan, which has lost about 65,000 people and $120 billion during its war on terror, reacted angrily. China backed Pakistan asking the international community to acknowledge the "tremendous efforts and sacrifices in combating terrorism" the country had made. Yet in late February on Washington's suggestion, Pakistan was placed on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) grey list of the countries where terrorist outfits are still allowed to raise funds.
Before and after general elections in July that brought Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party into power, US diplomats and military officials kept assuring Pakistan that their country won't sever ties with the "important ally" and Islamabad extended its "wholehearted support" to a US-backed Afghan offer of peace talks with the Taleban. But in November again, Trump and Khan had heated exchange on Twitter. Not days after the spat, the US president wrote a letter to the Pakistani premier seeking Islamabad's "assistance and facilitation in achieving a negotiated settlement of the Afghan war". Towards the end of the year, Pakistan facilitated the first official round of talks between Taleban officials and the US government in the UAE. The US praised Pakistan's efforts to promote the peace talks.
A few interruptions apart after Khan's government took power, Pakistan and China maintained a good relationship throughout the year. In September, China agreed to add social sector and regional development schemes to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects. In November, on Prime Minister Khan's request, China offered assistance to Pakistan to help it weather its fiscal woes. A terror attack targeting the Chinese consulate in Karachi was foiled by security forces in November. The attack left at least seven Pakistanis dead.
However, all foreign staff was safe. As the year came to a close, Pakistan said China had agreed to increase its imports from Pakistan to $2.2 billion by end of 2018-19 from the existing level of $1.2 billion and to $3.2 billion by end of next fiscal year. And Beijing said it was investing in multiple sectors and launching business ventures instead of providing loans to "boost Pakistan's economy".
The year 2017 had ended with Pakistani and Indian national security advisers meeting in Bangkok. However, soon after, tension on the Line of Control increased. Yet Pakistan gave its consent for a three-year extension to an agreement with India on the Munabao-Khokhrapar rail link and the two countries agreed on a proposal to release female prisoners, prisoners over the age of 70 and mentally challenged inmates held in each other's jails on humanitarian grounds.
After the elections, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Khan to congratulate him over his party's victory in the elections. Khan invited India to dialogue, terming it the "best way to alleviate poverty and uplift the people of the subcontinent". Pakistan's offer to hold talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York was first accepted and then rejected by the Indian government. In September, Indian and Pakistani troops for the first time took part in a joint exercise in Russia under the aegis of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). In November, Pakistan and India agreed on opening of the Kartarpur border for Sikh pilgrims.
On completion of its 100 days in power on November 26, the Khan government counted 'resetting relations with key partners, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE' among its achievements in its performance report. Khan offered to play a constructive role between Iran and Saudi Arabia. He paid two visits to Saudi Arabia. During his second visit, Riyadh gave Islamabad a $6 billion bailout package to help Pakistan avert a balance-of-payments crisis. Saudi Crown Prince, Muhammad bin Salman, is set to visit Pakistan in February 2019.
Khan visited the UAE twice. In September, Pakistan and the UAE agreed to strengthen economic, trade and investment relations. The next month, a UAE delegation comprising heads of major companies visited Pakistan. Islamabad, with dwindling finances and rising inflation, was negotiating an International Monetary Fund bailout when the UAE announced it would deposit $3 billion (equivalent to Dh11 billion) in the State Bank of Pakistan "to support the financial and monetary policy of the country". His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, will visit Pakistan in early 2019.
Elected on the pledge to battle graft, Khan's government is probing previous government contracts. Former premier and opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz chief Nawaz Sharif has landed in jail and former president and Pakistan Peoples Party head Asif Ali Zardari is facing travel ban and corruption charges. However, the leaders of opposition parties allege the anti-corruption drive is selective and targets only the ruling party's opponents.
A worsening war of words between the government and the opposition and a likely snap withdrawal of half of American troops from Afghanistan muddy the 2019 water for Pakistan!
Waqar Mustafa is a journalist and commentator based in Pakistan
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