Which way does the US-China-Islamabad-Cold War is headed?
Disputes between Pakistan and the United States over bilateral interactions and developments in the region have entered a new phase in the absence of Islamabad at the Washington-hosted Democracy Summit and warnings from Pakistani officials not to join the US-China Cold War.
Not joining the Cold War game in the region and not adhering to the US anti-China policy has been the main agenda of the Pakistani government in recent years, and as Washington’s competition for control of Beijing intensifies, Islamabad officials are increasingly concerned about the consequences.
Political experts in Pakistan say the country’s opposition to the US invitation to attend a conference on democracy sends a clear message to the United States that such an event is only aimed at advancing US geostrategic interests, which China and Russia also oppose.
According to them, Islamabad’s rejection of Washington reflects Pakistan’s common view with China and Russia on competitive policies and promoting the US Cold War. It is even said that Pakistan raised the issue with the Chinese side before officially announcing its non-participation in the US Democracy Conference, and after taking serious considerations from this country, decided not to attend the event.
In a report, the Pakistani newspaper Express Tribune analyzed the reasons why Pakistan’s distance from the US camp and further readiness to strengthen the partnership front with China, and wrote: Regions will not join, and then refuse to attend the Democracy Conference to say whether Pakistan has finally joined the Chinese camp.
Pakistani politicians’ skepticism about the US discriminatory approach and tough policies towards Islamabad has also led Islamabad political stakeholders to support the country’s strong participation in the new regional bloc with China, Iran and Russia.
“At first it was thought that Pakistan would attend the summit because Imran had previously congratulated Jubaiden on his election victory and even welcomed his initiative to convene a summit on democracy,” said Kamran Youssef, a Pakistani strategic analyst.
He added, however, that China and Russia were critical of US policy, saying Biden’s move would divide the world. Both countries stressed that the summit was not for democracy, but to advance US geostrategic interests. This put Pakistan in a difficult position.
Kamran Yousef said: not attending the conference became a simple but much more complicated decision. The consultation with the Pakistani authorities took days until the final call was made, and this was hours before the start of the summit.
He added: “Pakistan in a carefully designed statement very respectfully rejected the US invitation. No specific reason was given, and despite the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman’s emphasis on the importance of relations with the United States, Islamabad-Aliyev’s alignment with Beijing to avoid any rivalry and Cold War in the region was not mentioned.
“Pakistan has taken a new path in its foreign policy and we do not see the realization of the dream of forming a powerful new bloc with the participation of Beijing, Tehran and Moscow,” said the head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Pakistani National Assembly in March last year.
He stressed: Pakistan is no longer pursuing political compromises and decides according to its national interests. Some countries may try to pressure us with loans or grants, but this method no longer works.
Imran Khan described US pressure on the country to reduce ties with China as unfair, adding: “Our relations with the Chinese are very deep and have a history of 70 years, and we will not pay any attention to foreign pressure.”