Reviews for Pakistan's Foreign Policy: A Reappraisal

The average rating for Pakistan's Foreign Policy: A Reappraisal based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-04-16 00:00:00 Donald Duncan This book did an excellent review of Pakistan's foreign policy from 1947 until 2010. It was not an official compilation of the foreign policy but a diplomats summary and analysis. It helped me understand the complications that Pakistan have had since its conception and things that it did to handle them. Pakistan was thrown into pool's deep end and had to struggle with only limited resources to survive. According to the author, Pakistan's foreign policy has primarily been plagued by its insecurity to counter India's aggression since 1947. Pakistan's golden period of foreign policy and development was during the reign of Ayub Khan. Pakistan neatly balanced relationships with rival countries like the USA, USSR, and China without compromising its self-interests. After the 1965 and 1971 war, the momentum of development broke down, and the country had to struggle even more. Kashmir issue has always been a thorn in Pakistan-India relations, and it is evident that without resolving this issue, there can be no lasting peace in the South Asian region. There was a chance in the late 50's for Pakistan-India cooperation when Ayub Khan offered military alliance of joint-defense against foreign aggressors, but India's Prime Minister Nehru declined the offer. Pakistan and India have had their horns locked ever since with their defense expenditures taking away resources from where they are needed most. Then in the 70's the Cold-War between two Global powers brought the war to Pakistan's doorstep when Soviet Russia invaded Afghanistan. The Soviet presence and their expansionist designs were a mortal threat to Pakistan's sovereignty, and Pakistan had to do everything it could to neutralize this threat. Pakistan, then, entered the Afghan Jihad under the leadership of General Zia-ul-Haq. If it were someone other than Zia-ul-Haq, it would have been almost impossible for Pakistan to tackle such fragile foreign policy and challenges and still win the war. Under Zia-ul-Haq's reign, Pakistan developed nuclear weapons and strengthened the economy thanks to the extensive international support for Afghan Jihad. In few chapters, the author explains Pakistan's relations with other Muslim countries and how Pakistan dealt with them. There was another chapter about Soviet Russia, but it felt as if the author was narrating the story from George Orwell's 1984 novel. It questions the authenticity of authors analysis about Russia during cold-war. A chapter about post-9/11 period was added later in the book. It explained why Pakistan had to do what it did. It was 'realpolitik.' There was tremendous international pressure to side with the Americans, and that is what Pakistan did. It may not be the right decision, but it was one of the few options available.

Review # 2 was written on 2020-09-26 00:00:00 Roderick Hyde j