Since the creation of Pakistan in 1947, it has experienced a lot of threats to its sovereignty. Geographically, the country is surrounded by India in the south and east, Afghanistan in the north-west, Iran in the west, and China in the south, and thus occupies a very strategic position regionally and internationally.
Historically, the sovereignty of Pakistan has been threatened from outside, especially from the USA and the USSR during the Cold War. Making Pakistan join alliances with the USA, such as CENTO and SEATO, made it have enormous interference from the outside in terms of foreign policy.
The 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh from Pakistan was a major setback to the sovereignty of the country. The reasons for the war were thus internal, almost civil strife, and external, with India mainly playing this role. The resulting mass withdrawal of Pakistani forces as well as the emergence of Bangladesh can also be viewed as manifestations of Pakistani territorial and sovereignty shrinkage. Balochistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, have posed serious issues that raise questions about the sovereignty of Pakistan. Baloch separatism caused constant unrest and conflicts. Few factors have altered Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity than its hosting militant organizations which have transformed into terrorist organizations like Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan.
Pakistan also started its nuclear programme against India, and this has also created so many concerns, also reigniting old ones. The relations between the USA and Pakistan have put much pressure on the nuclear policies of Pakistan, as a result of which Pakistan has faced many bans and restrictions over its nuclear policies. The Belt and Road Initiative, with its special focus on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, has sparked fear about the sovereignty of Pakistan. Though the CPEC is capable of revolutionizing the Pakistani economy, it has introduced Chinese dominance in the Pakistani decision-making processes, both economically and politically.
Pakistan’s sovereignty too has been violated by regional and world powers, especially India and the USA. India is playing an increasing role in Afghan affairs and has been accused of backing militants against Pakistan. It can, however, be said that the US pivot-to-Asia policy also concerns the sovereignty of Pakistan. The USA has compromised the sovereignty of Pakistan through enhancing its military presence in the region and backing up India’s regional expansionism.
There is also a need for Pakistan to engage diplomatically in its unstable relations with two of its neighbouring countries, firstly India and secondly Afghanistan. In our case, it means that the enhancement of regional organizations, for example, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), would foster regional stability and sovereignty and to echo these ideas, Pakistan’s foreign policy must uphold sovereignty and independence. Therefore, the country has to avoid forming alliances with any outside powers and instead encourage other regional partners to embrace peace.
Pakistan’s sovereignty has been threatened pretty actively since the time of the state being established. Solving these problems implies using a complex approach based on the internal consolidation, economic stability, and development of the economies of the South Asian countries. The international community must also respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan. Other big powers cannot intervene in Pakistani politics and rather should encourage policies that contribute to the formation of a healthy regional environment. It becomes evident that the sovereignty of Pakistan is essential to world and regional security. The sovereignty of Pakistan could be tested in the future on a number of occasions due to internal, regional, and international factors. The social constructs of geography, nuclear power, and animosity with its neighbors will also help to mold the sovereignty of the country.
The development of nationalist and extremist movements in Pakistan will also put the sovereignty of the country to test. These movements pose a great threat to the country as well as its solvency since they might bring about insecurity in the sovereignty. The country has to achieve economic independence by extending material base diversifications and industrializations. International and regional organizations like the SCO and the United Nations will also have vital roles in determining the sovereignty of Pakistan. In this respect, Pakistan needs to deal with all these institutions for the sake of regional integration and cooperation.
Democracy, the judiciary and civil-military relations must first be enhanced within the country to keep the internal systems responsive to people’s needs and wants. The government must concentrate on economic nationalism by diversification and industrialization in order to avoid over reliance on donor funds, grants and loans. It must help build regional cooperation institutions to include; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) among others. Understanding must be built through exchanges of people and interchange of culture: cultural diplomacy for regional integration.
Therefore, in the long term, the sovereignty of the country is determined by its relations to regional and global powers. For this reason, the country needs to concentrate on internal consolidation, economic autarchy, and institutional cooperation in the region in order to be sovereign. Sovereignty and independence should be two guiding principles of Pakistan’s foreign policy. The country cannot have a foreign axis of moderation and must shift to supporting and fostering regional partnership and stability. The world also has to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan, as acknowledged by the United Nations. It is clear that external actors must not impose their influence on Pakistan’s internal affairs but contribute to positivity in the region as well as harmony for cooperation.
In the near future, Pakistan’s sovereignty will involve India, Afghanistan, and other neighbouring states. The remaining issue of the Kashmir territory with India and the Taliban fight in Afghanistan will remain main concerns. The CPEC, again the BRI project, will also decide the sovereignty of Pakistan in days to come. Although CPEC can offer a great deal to the Pakistani economy, it has also created a great deal of controversy over the sovereignty of Pakistan.
Thus, Pakistan needs to follow a correct internal/external balance and economic dependency free strategy for its sovereign integrity. Enhancing its technological endowment especially in AI, cyber security and space technology so as to achieve technology self-sufficiency necessary in the current world.
Democracy, the judiciary and civil-military relations must first be enhanced within the country to keep the internal systems responsive to people’s needs and wants. The government must concentrate on economic nationalism by diversification and industrialization in order to avoid over reliance on donor funds, grants and loans. It must help build regional cooperation institutions to include; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) among others. Understanding must be built through exchanges of people and interchange of culture: cultural diplomacy for regional integration.
Pakistan also faces the issue of rather challenging regional context, the nature of the relations with India, Afghanistan and China, in particular including the reunification Kashmir with Pakistan, we can bring the issue with the Indians into diplomatic negotiations through regional diplomatic relations, Promoting stability of Afghanistan through economic cooperation and building up an effective system of security and improving its geopolitical role through extending cooperation with China through CPEC and BRI. Such goals as initiating and participating in efforts for the promotion of peace and cooperation, and strengthening cooperation with the United Nations and other internationally oriented organizations and financial institutions.
Hence, for Pakistan, sovereignty and independence are cardinal points of reference for its foreign policy and refraining from entangling alliances and emergence as a regional cooperative power. The country also continues to face internal security threats such as terrorism and extremism to which the country needs to come up with effective countermeasures, collaboration with other regional countries, human development, education and health will guarantee quality human capital that is key to prosperous and independent economy.
The sovereignty of Pakistan is although important for stability of the region and security of the world. So by the adoption of these strategies Pakistan can continue to remain sovereign and more importantly remain very active in regional and global politics. To address future challenges, Pakistan must propel it to technical growth. The most important goal indigenous people would like to achieve is economic independence, building a solid regional structure, approach global institutions, encourage regional unity and peace. As I mentioned earlier, have sovereignty and independence as the main goal. If the above challenges are addressed, Pakistan would easily remain sovereign and continue to be influential politically, regionally, and globally.
