His actions have created enormous uncertainty in Islamabad, with constitutional experts debating their legitimacy and wondering if Khan and his opponents can find a way forward. The nuclear-armed nation of more than 220 million people lies between Afghanistan to the west, China to the northeast and India’s nuclear rival to the east, making it vitally strategic. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Since taking office in 2018, Hahn’s rhetoric has become more anti-American and he has expressed a desire to get closer to China and, more recently, Russia – including talks with President Vladimir Putin on the day the invasion of Ukraine began. At the same time, US and Asian foreign policy experts have said that Pakistan’s strong military traditionally controls foreign and defense policy, thus reducing the impact of political instability. Here’s what the unrest, which many expect will lead to Khan’s departure, means for countries closely involved in Pakistan: AFGHANISTAN Ties between Pakistan’s military intelligence service and Taliban insurgents have eased in recent years. Now that the Taliban are back in power, and facing an economic and humanitarian crisis due to lack of money and international isolation, Qatar is arguably their most important foreign partner. “We (the United States) do not need Pakistan as a pipeline to the Taliban. Qatar certainly plays that role now,” said Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at the Center for New American Security Thinking. Tank. Tensions have risen between the Taliban and the Pakistani military, which has lost several soldiers in attacks near their mutual borders. Pakistan wants the Taliban to do more to crack down on extremist groups and is concerned that they will spread violence in Pakistan. This is already happening. Khan was less critical of the Taliban for human rights than most foreign leaders. CHINA Khan has consistently stressed China’s positive role in Pakistan and in the world at large. At the same time, the $ 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which connects neighbors, was designed and launched under Pakistan’s two established political parties, both of which want Khan out of power. Opposition leader and potential successor Shehbaz Sharif has struck deals with China directly as leader of the eastern province of Punjab, and his reputation for launching major infrastructure projects while avoiding political supremacy could actually be music to Beijing. INDIA Neighbors have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the disputed Muslim-majority territory of Kashmir. As with Afghanistan, the Pakistani military is in control of politics in the sensitive area, and tensions along the de facto border there are at an all-time low since 2021. However, there have been no formal diplomatic talks between the rivals for years due to deep distrust on a number of issues, including Khan’s extreme criticism of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for handling attacks on Muslim minorities in India. Karan Thapar, an Indian political commentator who has closely monitored India-Pakistan relations, said the Pakistani military could put pressure on a new political government in Islamabad to take advantage of the successful ceasefire in Kashmir. On Saturday, the powerful leader of Pakistan’s army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, said his country was ready to move to Kashmir if India agreed. read more The Sharif political dynasty has been at the forefront of many adventurous projections to India over the years. UNITED STATES US-based South Asian experts say the Pakistani political crisis is unlikely to be a priority for President Joe Biden, who is fighting the war in Ukraine, unless it leads to mass unrest or escalating tensions with India. “We have so many other fish to fry,” said Robin Raphael, a former deputy foreign minister for South Asia who is a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ think tank. With the Pakistani military maintaining backstage control over foreign and security policies, Khan’s political fate was not a major concern, according to some analysts. “Since the military is the one pursuing the policies that the United States really cares about, namely Afghanistan, India and nuclear weapons, Pakistan’s internal political developments are largely irrelevant to the United States,” Curtis said. who served as former US President Donald Trump. Senior Director of the National Security Council for South Asia. He added that Khan’s visit to Moscow was a “disaster” in US relations and that a new government in Islamabad could at least help improve ties “to some extent”. Hahn blamed the United States for the current political crisis, saying Washington wanted to oust him over a recent trip to Moscow. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Additional report and writing by Sanjeev Miglani. Editing by Mike Collett-White Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
