Course: Foreign Policy of Pakistan-II (4662)
Semester: Spring, 2022
ASSIGNMENT No. 2
Q.1 What were the contributions of Pakistan for the eradication of colonialism in world? Explain in detail.
Black Lives Matter has made clear to white elites around the world just how much anger there is about the legacy of colonialism. But the rage felt by the protesters is hardly new. After all, those who participated in the 1857 First War of Indian Independence known by the British as the Indian Mutiny risked their lives opposing colonialism. In many Asian and African countries, the high hopes that came with independence in the post-World War II period was the mirror image of the grinding despair that had characterized life under a colonial master.
The current generation of anti-colonial activists are still sufficiently disadvantaged to find it necessary to give reminders of what colonialism was like. They know that many in the West still don’t fully appreciate what colonialism entailed from the point of view of the colonized. And, they say, most Westerners fail to understand that the wealth their countries enjoy flows not just from their hard work and technological excellence but also from the resources that were ruthlessly extracted from the rest of the world over a period of some centuries.
One of the more telling facts to emerge in the UK as a result of Black Lives Matter is just how many members of the British House of Lords are the descendants of people who made their money from slaving. These are hereditary members of the upper house, still wielding power as a result of their forbears’ rapacious conduct a clear a sign as any of how the colonial past is hard wired into the present British establishment.
Q.2 What is Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and why had NAM not given membership to Pakistan after its establishment? Discuss Pakistan’s interaction with NAM.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath of the Korean War, as an effort by some countries to counterbalance the rapid bi-polarization of the world during the Cold War, whereby two major powers formed blocs and embarked on a policy to pull the rest of the world into their orbits. One of these was the pro-Soviet, communist bloc whose best known alliance was the Warsaw Pact, and the other the pro-American capitalist group of countries many of which belonged to NATO. In 1961, drawing on the principles agreed at the Bandung Conference of 1955, the Non-Aligned Movement was formally established in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, through an initiative of Yugoslav President Josip Broz Tito, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah and Indonesian President Sukarno.
This led to the first Conference of Heads of State or Governments of Non-Aligned Countries. The term non-aligned movement first appears in the fifth conference in 1976, where participating countries are denoted as “members of the movement”. The purpose of the organization was summarized by Fidel Castro in his Havana Declaration of 1979 as to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.”
Q.3 Discuss in detail Pakistan’s role in the United Nations Human Rights Council. How had Pakistan highlighted the cases of human rights violations in the world?
Pakistan joined the United Nations on September 30, 1947, just over a month after its independence.
- Pakistan is committed to a world in which upholding human dignity is the highest value and maintaining global peace a sacred duty. Pakistan envisages a world which is free of want, hunger and deprivation. A world where justice and fair play govern the affairs of human beings and inequality, oppression and war are abhorred.
- Over the last 66 years, Pakistan has put this vision into practice by making significant contributions to the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, in particular the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security, as a member of the Security Council and through its contribution to UN Peacekeeping. It has been an ardent advocate of multilateralism and the primacy of the United Nations in international affairs.
- Pakistans commitment and participation in the United Nations is across-the-board. It has actively participated in discussions at the United Nations on a host of issues including human rights, development, environment and climate change, and international law.
- Pakistan is currently an elected member to the following UN bodies: Human Rights Council (2013-15); Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (2012-17); Commission for Social Development (2013-2017); Commission on the Status of Women (2013-2017); Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (2013-2015); UNICEF Executive Board (2013-2015); UNDP/UNFPA Executive Board (2013-2015); and United Nations Committee on Contributions (2013-16).
Q.4 Why had Pakistan been dissatisfied with SEATO? Elaborate the reasons for dissatisfaction with SEATO.
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was an international organization for collective defense in Southeast Asia created by the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, or Manila Pact, signed in September 1954 in Manila, the Philippines. The formal institution of SEATO was established on 19 February 1955 at a meeting of treaty partners in Bangkok, Thailand. The organization’s headquarters were also in Bangkok. Eight members joined the organization.
Primarily created to block further communist gains in Southeast Asia, SEATO is generally considered a failure because internal conflict and dispute hindered general use of the SEATO military; however, SEATO-funded cultural and educational programs left longstanding effects in Southeast Asia. SEATO was dissolved on 30 June 1977 after many members lost interest and withdrew.
The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region. Although called the “Southeast Asia Treaty Organization,” only two Southeast Asian countries became members. The Philippines joined in part because of its close ties with the United States and in part out of concern over the nascent communist insurgency threatening its own government. Thailand, similarly, joined after learning of a newly established “Thai Autonomous Region” in Yunnan Province in South China, expressing concern about the potential for Chinese communist subversion on its own soil. The rest of the region was far less concerned about the threat of communism to internal stability. Burma and Indonesia both preferred to maintain their neutrality rather than join the organization. Malaya (including Singapore) found it politically difficult to give formal support to the organization, though through its ties with Great Britain it learned of key developments. Finally, the terms of the Geneva Agreements of 1954 signed after the fall of French Indochina prevented Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos from joining any international military alliance, though these countries were ultimately included in the area protected under SEATO and granted “observers” status.
Q.5
What was RCD and what were the achievements of RCD? Critically analyze Pakistan’s role as a member of RCD.
Islamic identity and to safeguards its economic interests were the main objectives of Pakistan’s foreign policy overture towards the Muslim world. To achieve these goals Pakistan advanced the idea of the (Regional Cooperation for Development) RCD. Two other Muslim states, Iran and Turkey had a lukewarm attitude with the basic idea of a Regional organization. Iran and Turkey were not only reluctant to join this organization but the western powers also had apprehensions about the concept of RCD. Western powers had reservations that having already CENTO (Central Treaty Organization) another organization will also be redundant in its existence. Both Iran and Turkey wanted to build RCD without deserting the Western bloc, which they considered vital to safeguard their long terms interests associated with CENTO. To dispel the West’s reaction towards RCD in already existing arrangements of CENTO, member countries propagated that this would be an economic and developmental organization among the co-religion states. But for Pakistan RCD was a multipurpose platform that retains its Islamic identity, makes a choice in foreign policy, and gets rid of the impression of western tutelage. Similarly, Pakistan was shocked by the Western allies’ overtures towards India, after its defeat to China in the 1962 border clashes. Pakistan was looking for new friends to counterbalance this situation. The same was the approach of Pakistan, Iran, and Turkey when they formed RCD. RCD meant to them a kind of pak-Islamism between non-Arab regional Muslim states. This was regional cooperation between co-religionist countries to rebuild their identity and interests according to the new needs. By initiating RCD, Pakistan also wants to cease its immediate colonial past and to safeguards its territorial integrity. Islam suits Pakistan in all aspects, it got independence on the slogan of separate Muslim land, therefore Pan-Islamism had a wider appeal for Indian Muslims and it dates back when they regarded