With a potential crisis brewing in the Middle East and Gulf region, the Pakistani leadership took on what seemed impossible in international relations. In an attempt to broker peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran, Pakistan’s two Sharifs, prime minister and army chief, headed to Riyadh on Monday before visiting Tehran a day later to start the process of reconciliation. Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr resulted in a suspension of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which threatened to increase instability in a region already undergoing serious tumult. Pakistan – stuck in a diplomatic nightmare at its own end – bravely volunteered to mediate between the two. Even if the efforts are not as fruitful as some optimists may have hoped, the move must be praised as Pakistan has managed to negotiate through a tricky situation without choosing sides, and ostensibly playing a positive role in the perception of both Iran and Saudi Arabia. Both the Iranian president and the Saudi king were reported to have responded positively to Pakistan’s overtures – earning the Sharif team praise.
The Pakistani leadership made the only sensible choice it could. Its choice to mediate between the two big powers of the Muslim world is probably one of the few times Pakistan has proactively pursued diplomacy as a mechanism to stem conflict before it boils over. Pakistan’s proposal to appoint focal persons from the two countries to move towards peace may not have gotten immediate credence, but we may well have been identified as the possible intermediary both Iran and Saudi Arabia might want to negotiate through when they eventually decide to normalise relations. However, the reality is that good intentions will not be enough to mend relations between the two countries that are engaged in a number of proxy wars all across the Middle East and South Asia. In another good step, Defence Minister Khwaja Asif has clarified that Pakistan will not be engaging in any anti-Shia alliance with Saudi Arabia. While all this sounds promising, as does Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei’s condemnation of the attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran, we must not jump to any conclusions just yet. Any shared goodwill Saudi Arabia and Iran may have for Pakistan will not make their rivalry magically disappear. For now, Pakistan has shown political maturity. It is time Iran and Saudi Arabia did the same.http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/92856-Bridging-the-Gulf
Fruits of mediation: EDITORIAL in Pakistan Today, Jan 20, 2016
The prime minister and army chief seemed happy enough with their ‘mediation’ tour. Yet in tangible, quantifiable terms all that has been achieved is Pakistan and Iran agreeing on the need of ‘focal persons’ between Tehran and Riyadh, for which Nawaz still has to “ask Saudi Arabia to also name someone”. And, sadly, expectations that the head of the only Muslim nuclear power, along with his army chief, will broker peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia and help end the cataclysmic sectarian war that has consumed the Middle East will have to wait a while longer.
No doubt both Riyadh and Tehran welcomed the Pakistani initiative. Even before the Sharifs had taken the trouble to fly to both capitals for their “sacred duty”, both Iran and KSA were well aware of the direction the Arabian bloodbath was taking, not to mention the need for Muslim unity, etc, as they were reminded by their Pakistani guests. So the trip was spot-on as far as appearances go, but did not yield anything concrete. Pakistan should have pushed both parties to resume diplomatic relations. And while there was some mention in the press of the Iranians being lectured on this, there were few details about how hard the Saudis were pushed, even though Riyadh broke the diplomatic channel.
It is unlikely, therefore, that the Pakistani government’s “sincere efforts” will bring about any major change in the Middle East. Our position on the Saudi-led coalition also remains strangely vague, despite several attempts by some ministers to explain it. We are part of it, so far, but its agenda is not yet defined, and the principal on-ground players against ISIS – Iran, Syria, etc – have not been invited. And, also, we will no longer be game if our troops are required. But what exactly is our position? There seems some weight in PPP allegations, under such circumstances, that Pakistan is basically just toeing the Saudi line, and appearing good in the process, rather than sincerely pushing for a realistic toning down of tensions in the wider Muslim world. http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2016/01/20/comment/fruits-of-mediation/
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