Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE…, expert says Pakistan must look beyond China, Muslim nations, build ties with…; Islamabad should…

Except for China, all the nations that Pakistan has strategic and military ties with are Muslim countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dr Qamar Cheema, a senior political analyst, has advised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to build diplomatic and strategic relations with nations besides Muslim nations.

Shehbaz Sharif news: Pakistan needs to look beyond its traditional allies — China and a few Muslim nations like Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, etc– and build ties with other nations so that Islamabad does not remain dependent on these countries to purchase arms and armaments, according to an expert.

Dr Qamar Cheema, a senior political analyst, has advised Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to build diplomatic and strategic relations with nations besides Muslim nations in order to boost defense cooperation.

‘Don’t arm terror’: Rajnath tells Dutch counterpart

The Pakistani expert’s remarks came after Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh urged Netherlands not to provide any type of weaponry or military technology to Pakistan.

Calling Pakistan the “sponsor of terrorism”, Singh, during a meeting with his Dutch counterpart, Ruben Berkelmans in New Delhi on Tuesday urged Netherlands not to arm Pakistan as that would result instability in the region, and India has been a victim of Pakistan-sponsored terrorism for decades, The Print reported.

Pakistan must ‘find other friends’

Speaking in the backdrop of the above development, Qamar Cheema advised the Shehbaz Sharif government to “find other friends” besides China, Turkey, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and a few other Muslim nations, so Islamabad has options when it comes to purchasing arms. “Today, no country is willing to sell weapons to Pakistan, which has forced us to work independently in the defense sector. Pakistan has manpower, human resources but we need money to invest in R&D and develop things,” said Cheema.

“Pakistan will have to see who are the other friends it can talk to for arms apart from Turkey and China. I don’t see any. I don’t see any other friends of Pakistan,” he further said, adding that Islamabad needs to follow India’s approach towards diplomacy and building strategic ties with different nations across the globe.

“Islamabad must shun this Traditional Area Corporation. Go out, and tell the world what we can do,” he stated.

Notably, except for China, all the nations that Pakistan has strategic and military ties with are Muslim countries, including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Islamabad has often tried to rally support from Islamic nations on the Kashmir issue.

Pakistan needs private investment

Meanwhile, Dr Cheema urged the Pakistani government to look for private investment in order to rebuild the economy. “Pakistan is a country of 250 million people. A lot can be done. People want to come here and work. There is a return over investment here. This is such a big market, whoever comes here will definitely make money,” he said, while also attacking Islamabad for lacking “passion” to make things better.

The Pakistani analyst also accused India of blocking its allies from selling defense equipment to Pakistan citing cross-border terrorism and regional security.