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A Friendship No Longer "Higher
Than Himalayas And Deeper Than Seas"
One thing Pakistani governments constantly
boast about are China-Pakistan relations. A favorite sentence,
“higher than Himalayas and deeper than sea” is quite often
repeated in Pakistan to describe the friendship between two
neighboring countries.
Is China-Pakistan relationship really “higher
than Himalayas and deeper than sea?” It may have been in the
past, but this proverbial relationship is not as “higher” or
“deeper” any longer.
Pakistan, as usual, wants to keep its head
buried in the sand. Pakistani leadership always lives in fools’
paradise and doesn’t want to get out of it until someone really
bangs on its head.
The fact of the matter is Pakistan’s all
policies including friendship with China have collapsed and now
the state of Pakistan is just chasing the wind to find some
point to hang over it as long as it can.
General Musharraf’s illegitimate rule is the
last straw on the back of Pakistan’s camel. With all policies
miserably failed, it is ready to crumble under its own burden.
Let me explain how and why?
Pakistan always formulated its internal and
external policies around three axes: US, China and India. India
was always treated as an enemy, whereas United States and China
were treated as friendly states. Pakistan’s friendship with
United States and China also had an Indian angle. United States
and China were Pakistan’s friends, because both United States
and China didn’t have amicable relations with India. Therefore,
United States and China treated Pakistan as a friend vis-à-vis
India.
With the fall of Soviet Union world started
to move in a different direction. 9/11 further pushed the world
in a direction where United States and China had to have better
relationship with India. Although both United States and China
assured Pakistan that they were not developing relations with
India on the cost of Pakistan; but fast growing ties between
United States and India and China and India automatically
marginalized Pakistan; Pakistan became an unwanted child in
newly married US-India and China-India couples.
In this changed scenario, Pakistan is a lost
child. Not knowing which direction to take, it is just aimlessly
wandering in international arena. It is trying to be friend with
India, China and United States, but nobody really wants it
around. All three countries treat it like an unwanted child.
We all know where India and Pakistan’s peace
process stands; we also know where US and Pakistan’s
relationship stands. Let us try to uncover the myth of
China-Pakistan friendship.
6 years ago, before general Musharraf
appeared on Pakistan’s national scene, Pakistan and China’s
friendship was higher than Himalayas and deeper than sea. The
volume of trade between China and Pakistan was 5 times higher
than volume of trade between China and India. Within Musharraf’s
6 years, this graph has totally reversed. Now, the volume of
trade between China and India is 5 times higher than volume of
trade between China and Pakistan.
Early last year, United States, China and
India had tripartite conference in Beijing. Three countries
talked about the strategic relationship among themselves whereas
Pakistan was no where to be seen.
Within last 12 months 6 Chinese workers have
been gunned down in Pakistan. Both times, aggrieved Chinese
requested general Musharraf’s government to arrest the
murderers, but government failed to arrest the murderers or
protect Chinese workers from further killings.
The fact of the matter is economic, political
and strategic interests have drifted China and Pakistan further
away from each other.
Growing economic, political and strategic
ties between China, India and United States not only indicate
Pakistan’s deteriorated significance in Chinese scheme of things
it also shows how gradually Pakistan is becoming an undesirable
friend.
China-Pakistan relations story is story of
two friendly countries that considered their friendship “Higher
than Himalayas and deeper than seas”, but which is not so higher
or deeper any longer. And it has all happened on general
Musharraf’s watch.
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