ISLAMABAD: Former diplomat Dr Maleeha Lodhi on Tuesday called for a sweeping review of the country’s foreign policy, emphasising the need for economic self-sufficiency, strategic partnerships and a focus on national priorities to break free from outdated approaches and dependency.

Dr Lodhi, who has served as ambassador to the United States, the United Kingdom and the United Nations, was speaking at the inaugural session of the Dialogue on Economy hosted by Pakistan Business Council.

A broad foreign policy review is essential and overdue given the geopolitical changes sweeping the world. The last such review was over 20 years ago, she said while also underscoring the importance of improving economy, extending diplomatic efforts beyond seeking financial assistance, and casting aside outdated approaches to elevate the country’s standing.

“All foreign policy begins at home. Weak economy dependent on external financial resources and internal political turmoil weigh heavily on the conduct of Pakistan’s diplomacy and stymies its ability to emerge as a Middle Power,” she maintained.

Dr Maleeha Lodhi identifies China, US ties, testy relationship with Kabul, balance between Saudi, Iran blocs as priority areas

Expounding on the global landscape, Dr Lodhi said that Pakistan has to navigate its foreign policy challenges in a global geopolitical environment that is marked by five important features: “growing multipolarity but weakening multilateralism, US-China competition, rising East-West tensions, increasing importance of Middle Powers and with advance technology being of prime importance”.

This shifting global order, she stressed, demands a recalibration of Pakistan’s foreign policy priorities to better address emerging challenges and opportunities.

Dr Lodhi identified several priority areas for Pakistan’s foreign policy in the near future, which included managing relations with China and the US, navigating an increasingly testy relationship with Afghanistan, addressing adversarial ties with India, balancing relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and maintaining positive engagement with the European Union.

China remains Pakistan’s top foreign policy priority. While relations remain strong, a number of problems need to be resolved, she emphasised and listed Beijing’s concerns vis-a-vis Pakistan as absence of political stability, security threats to its personnel working here, and Islamabad publicly asking for loan rollovers and debt relief from China. The durability of this partnership, she insisted, hinged on Pakistan’s ability to address these pressing concerns.

Turning to Pakistan’s ties with the United States, Dr Lodhi said: “With the US relations are at an inflection point since the American military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, the big unknown is how relations with Trump’s America will shape up especially as Pakistan’s geopolitical importance has diminished for Washington after its Afghan exit.”

She pointed out that a reset proved elusive during President Biden’s tenure, as he showed little interest in Pakistan.

Islamabad seeks re-engagement with Washington to build a relationship based on Pakistan’s intrinsic importance and not as a function of a third country. But this won’t be easy as Pakistan cannot be part of any anti-China coalition, and Washington’s strategic alignment with India presents another significant hurdle.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2025