Pakistan must carefully navigate a complicated diplomatic chessboard |
Pakistan must carefully navigate a complicated diplomatic chessboard
https://arab.news/8bn4a
On my television screen, I watched a plume of smoke rise over Tehran as thousands of mourners beat their chests following the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US–Israel strikes. The air was thick with vows of revenge.
Thousands of miles away in Karachi, a different but equally volatile scene unfolded. Emotional protesters — mostly young men — scaled the walls of the US Consulate, raising Hezbollah and Iranian flags while chanting against the United States and Israel. Clashes with police left several dead after an attempt to storm the compound.
The war in Iran is not a distant spectacle for Pakistan. It carries immediate and profound implications. The two countries share a long, porous border, and between 15 and 20 percent of Pakistan’s population is Shi’ite.
Historically, many within this community felt ideological affinity with Iran’s clerical leadership. After Khomeini’s revolution, religious political movements gained influence in Pakistan amid sectarian violence during the 1980s. That era belongs to history. Yet in today’s climate — especially after Gaza — anti-American and anti-Israel sentiment runs deep across both Shia and Sunni communities. If the war intensifies, anger and resentment could coalesce into a more organized movement. Pakistan cannot afford this.
Balancing competing pressures will require deft diplomacy from Pakistan and careful calibration of national interests. - Owais Tohid
Balancing competing pressures will require deft diplomacy from Pakistan and careful calibration of national interests.
The country is already grappling with internal........