On the international front, Pakistan is proactively seeking the IMF grant and opening avenues for improved economic relations with the world. At the same time, Pakistan is focusing on military and defence advancement through an equally proactive diplomatic policy. After the visit of the Turkish Land Forces Commander, a delegation from the United Kingdom’s military paid a visit to our COAS.

Although the joint statement remained tight-lipped about the details of the discussion, the quick turnaround between meetings, and the fact that Turkey and the UK both are key NATO countries, demonstrates the direction of foreign policy. We must keep in mind is that Pakistan is not entering into any specific defence deal with the UK here. The regular security meetings have been ongoing for some time.

However, the speed of re-engagement with Western powers – especially potential defence partners – is remarkable on its own. Pakistan had undergone a significant shift in its military hardware procurement policies because of the shifting geostrategic alliances following the end of the Afghan War and the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. In fact, the shift had been happening slowly for quite some time. From its heyday in the mid-2000s procurement, as well as direct military aid, from the US-led sphere of influence had steadily been falling. With India emerging as the new US counterweight against China, old allegiances changed, and Pakistani policymakers had to adapt with these changes. This led to a rapid increase in defence cooperation between Pakistan and China. The most symbolic aspect of this shift is the Chinese JF-17 and the J-10C rising to match the prominence once held by the American F-16 in military doctrine.

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Unsurprising, this coincided with and further exacerbated the freeze in Pakistan-US bilateral relations, which reached a new low during the PTI government. This new balanced approach – where China remains a strong military partner, but relations are maintained with NATO – is the correct one. Just as Pakistan has been balancing the geo-political pressures of the Iran-Saudi Arabia divide in the Middle East, Pakistan must continue to balance multiple military hardware providers to ensure it does not become reliant on any one source.

The focus on proactive diplomacy, open channels, and a premium placed on technologies that can be indigenised and made in Pakistan, will pay dividends in the future.