THE Dalai Lama marked his 60th year of political asylum with a ‘thank you India’ rally held at Dharamsala recently. Earlier, this rally had been scheduled for New Delhi. For the first time, such an event was attended by an insignificant federal minister of India. All of this came after the 73-day-long stand-off between India and China at the Doklam platform.

A paradigm shift in India’s policy towards China will have far-reaching consequences for Pakistan and the world at large. Trade links between India and China have improved manifold. This implies that the otherwise arch enemies have set aside their territorial disputes for the sake of mutually beneficial economic ties.

Islamabad has to take note of the repercussions for Pakistan. The answer is a proactive foreign policy. Our Foreign Office needs to learn from CPEC and henceforth also pursue east-west connectivity. This implies improving our relations with India and Afghanistan respectively. The economic gains arising out of this partnership will not only strengthen our economy but also secure our national interests.

Farooq Muhammad Khan
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2018