Pakistan’s Foreign Policy Shift in the Post-9/11 Era

Abstract

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks caused a paradigm shift in the world security dynamics and brought a radical change to the foreign policy of Pakistan. This paper discusses strategic, diplomatic, and economic realignments in Pakistan, between the year 2001 and the current, and focuses on the manner in which Islamabad negotiated the balancing of pressures of alliances, need to maintain domestic security and geopolitics in the region. It claims that the post 9/11 policy of Pakistan developed on three parallel paths: (1) transnationalism between itself and the United States due to aid, basing and intelligence collaboration; (2) increased securitization and militarization of foreign policy due to institutional interests of the military; and (3) hedging and diversification towards China, the Gulf states, and regional players to counterbalance strategic vulnerability. The paper presents correlations that fit the point: The U.S. engagement and aid increase are associated with observable changes in the Islamabad diplomatic stance, and the increase in internal insecurity is associated with an increase in the military control over external policy. The paper concludes that the outward orientation in Pakistan has been sporadic and pragmatic but the long-term direction is based on institutionalized securitization and strategic diversification instead of unconditional partnering. Some of the policy recommendations are to enhance civilian foreign policy control, to institutionalize foreign policy transparency in security cooperation, to expand economic diplomacy with partners other than single partners, and to pursue a moderated counter-terrorism strategy between security and governance. The article combines both primary and secondary sources and provides a model of more empirical studies based on data.