By Shazia Anwer Cheema
The Prime Minister of Pakistan Mian Shahbaz Sharif held a successful two-day visit to the Azerbaijani capital Baku and held a successful meeting with President of Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev on June 15, 2023. The diplomatic circles of both countries believe that the recent interaction of both leaders would leave a lasting impact on their already excellent bilateral relations and Baku categorically communicated that it stands with Islamabad in the difficult economic phase Pakistan is going through.
We also know that Azerbaijan has already offered its energy resources (oil and gas) at very low prices to Pakistan so Islamabad can mitigate the energy crises it is facing. I will talk in detail about what Azerbaijan is offering to Pakistan economically but first I will share what lessons of life President Ilham Aliyev shared with our Prime Minister. When I went through the transcript shared by State-Run News Agency Azertac of what he said during the presser of both leaders, I got some very important points I must share with my readers.
Standing along with Prime Minister Sharif, President Ilham Aliyev said that the situation in the world is changing, and instability areas are growing, therefore, strong military capacity is a guarantee for independence and territorial integrity. He was of the view that 30 years long negotiations with Armenia did not produce any result nor the international bodies could help Azerbaijan against the aggression of Armenia because international law works selectively and resolutions of the United Nations Security Council are not being implemented. He is of the view that the only guarantee to stand as a sovereign country and to protect the independence, territorial integrity, security, and well-being of our people is our economic, political, and military capability.
His strong message of self-reliance, having a strong economy, and a responsive military should be taken by Pakistan as the key to success and a roadmap to come out of the crisis Pakistan had been facing for a long.
Like a real brother President Ilham Aliyev announced immediate support for Pakistan and said that soon several delegations from Azerbaijan will visit Pakistan. One on trade and investment missions, another on issues related to energy cooperation, and the third will address the issues of cooperation in the defense industry. He simply said that Azerbaijan is ready to do whatever is needed to help Pakistan to bail out from the economic crisis and stated that Pakistan had always stood with Azerbaijan so the Baku would be.
President Ilham Aliyev said that the people of Azerbaijan know very well, who was with us during the times of the 44 days of war – it was Türkiye and Pakistan, which expressed strong political support to us. His loud and clear statement is more than enough to understand the depth of Azerbaijan-Pakistan relations. He categorically mentioned that relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan are based on mutual history, culture, traditions, religion, solidarity, and mutual support and Pakistan is the country, which did not establish diplomatic relations with Armenia because of Armenian occupation and aggression against Azerbaijan. And this is the real position of brothers. We are very grateful for that.
We remember that Azerbaijan always supports Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir and demonstrates solidarity with all international organizations.
As the situation of Pakistan due to the chaos created by several political and non-state actors is creating difficulties for the sitting government, the deterioration in the diplomatic relations during the previous government and bad decisions on the behalf of external agenda has put Pakistan into multiple problematic spheres. International Monetary Fund (IMF) is not coming slow on Pakistan, the regional neighboring threats, high inflation and energy crisis, and anti-Pakistan propaganda on top of that are enough to halt any functional state, however, the time-tested friends are unanimously standing with Pakistan in this time of need.
China apart from all the bashing by the previous government is continuing its development projects. Other friends are also reaffirming their support in these tough times. The efforts of the current Pakistani government are overwhelmingly encompassing all the dimensions, the PDM government is utilizing its well-established diplomatic ties to minimize the risks of the energy crisis, and the economic fluctuation because of IMF lingering on the situation is also being mitigated through alternatives via seasoned diplomatic ties. With the efforts of PM Shahbaz Sharif Pakistan is finally able to develop an economic crisis management plan. The clarity, which was also reiterated by Minister Ishaq Dar that IMF is working on larger political agendas gives the clear picture that Pakistan must think about alternatives.
Aliveyism could be Pakistan’s road map too for a prosperous future
This tough time has also taught us that we must follow in the footsteps of our friendly countries, especially regarding self-reliance, border security, and sovereignty. No matter how much a country is being forced to reduce arm power, and how much it is being pushed to resolute bilateral issues with international forums, it is of no use if a country is economically dependent and lacks sufficient military might. The border dispute can be resolved through military enforcement and border security leads to sovereignty and a sovereign country can decide for itself, otherwise, we can see the textbook example of Ukraine, whose destiny is being decided miles away and without Ukrainian’s consent.
On the contrary, Azerbaijan has materialized its border security and achieved economic stability as a sovereign country just because they rely on it. That leads to a critical point in reference to Pakistan, which is in the center of the regional geo-political stage and external and internal hostile forces are targeting only two things: Pakistan’s military and Economy. The Pakistani military is under direct line of fire by lethal propaganda, deep fake and connecting this to human rights violations, second thing Pakistan’s economy is under attack because of the IMF’s irrational demands. The way out is self-reliance, thinking about the whole public instead of only state employees, cutting perks and privileges to powerful bureaucracy, and establishing a better earning model. We live in a country where subsidies are for the rich and poverty is offered to the poor. Moreover, we must learn from our friends like Azerbaijan which has provided an excellent model of human development for others to follow.
We Pakistanis are standing firm because we have friends like Azerbaijan, the friends who are giving us oxygen to survive in this tough time, not only do they realize our situation but also, they are reaffirming that Pakistan must not worry about the energy crisis and must not bow down to any irrational demands of cutting down the most crucial elements of our sovereignty. President of Azerbaijan reassured Pakistan that in the matter of momentary hurdles Pakistan is not alone and his words are much-needed hope that in order to just keep us functional we can avoid compromising arrangements.
Aliyevism could be Pakistan’s road map too for a prosperous future, it can tell us that no matter how dark the moment is, persistent struggle can achieve unimaginable. The good times are the outcome of difficult decisions and if in difficult times one can have a loyal friend that of course can make the way less difficult. I as a Pakistani am grateful to President Ilham Aliyev and the Azerbaijani people for their support and understanding.
Note: Writer Shazia Anwer Cheema is an author, columnist, and foreign affairs expert who writes for national and international media. She is a doctoral student and researcher in semiotics and philosophy of communication at Charles University in Prague. She can be reached at her: Twitter @ShaziaAnwerCh Email: shaziaanwer@yahoo.com
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The views and opinions expressed in this article/Opinion/Comment are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk (DND). Assumptions made within the analysis are not reflective of the position of the DND Thought Center and Dispatch News Desk News Agency.
