National Unity and Foreign Policy options for Pakistan on Russia-Ukraine War.

Byline: Sobia Khursheed

The Russian invasion has sent shock waves to the world, and global powers like the US, UK, France, Germany, and many other European countries are taking it to global platforms like the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to gather global support to condemn Russia over its aggression in Ukraine. Scholars are debating whether it is a first step towards the Russian resurgence or a new cold war that will transform the unipolar world into a multi-polar entity. East and West have a divided outlook on the conflict. In Pakistan, as soon as the unfortunate event of aggression took place, policymakers were feeling the heat to react quickly and take a position. Keeping in view the political and economic impact of the war, two contrasting schools of thought emerged. The first one is pro-Russian; there was an adrenaline rush among the supporters of this camp to jump into the Russian ship and prove Pakistan's relevance to the world, especially to the West. They argue that since Pakistan has recently adopted a multidimensional foreign policy to maintain good relations with every major global power or emerging power, it is pragmatic to take a policy line that does not undermine its opening ties with Russia.

They highlight that Pakistan is an independent sovereign country that finally wants to breakaway from the US and it is only possible if Pakistan officially joins the Russian camp. Proponents of this group also suggest that the US itself has committed multiple acts against sovereign countries and is an unreliable friend. They also argue that as NATO has an agreement that it will not expand its sphere in Eastern Europe and it has violated the agreement and Ukraine joining NATO was a direct attack on Russia from NATO, therefore Russia has every right to exercise its influence on the neighboring states. There is another school of thought, that claim that Pakistan and the US have enjoyed sustained periods of close, mutually beneficial engagement and even now the US is the largest trading partner of Pakistan, while economic and political cooperation with Russia is almost negligible. They also highlight the role of the Financial Action Taskforce (FATF), International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Union (EU), and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) of the EU in running the economic machinery of the state.

To many, this stance made clear sense, after all how Pakistan can support a larger country invading a smaller country? What type of...