Why Pakistan Can Never Ditch The West

Pakistan has been forced to forge an all purpose alliance with China. The US geo strategic alliance with India to make the country a regional counterweight to China's growing power became an essential motivation for Pakistan to do so. India is Pakistan's erstwhile enemy ever since the partition of subcontinent by British into India and Pakistan in 1947. Both countries have fought numerous wars to date. India has fought an all out war with China as well in 1962. Kashmir remains the common bone of contention among the triangle. Until recently Kashmir enjoyed a special status being administratively controlled by their respective held areas between China, India and Pakistan. However Indian Government of Narendra Modi in its second term in power changed the special status of Kashmir and annexed the entire disputed territory held by them. Further to this the Indian Government's senior ministers made public statements to invade Pakistani administered Kashmir too which holds 60 Billion USD China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project being the flagship of President Xi Jingping's One Belt and One Road Initiative. China responded strongly to the Indian moves in Kashmir by occupying the Galwan Valley, an area claimed by India. This move allowed the Chinese Military to effectively put a blockade to Indian Army's MSR(Main Supply Route) to Siachin, an area where Indian and Pakistani Armies are involved in eyeball to eyeball combat since 1984. Siachin is also the only gateway for an Indian invasion to cut China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

While the western countries, mainly USA is actively engaged in a trade war with China, Pakistan is fast developing an interoperability with China in military and economic spheres. China and Pakistan enjoy deep rooted historical relationship. The bilateral ties are taking shape of military interoperability faced with common aggression by India. China made it possible for Pakistan not to isolate economically and militarily irrespective of full public onslaught by India. China came forward to support Pakistan when all odds were against the country.

Western world lead by US takes China as it's new enemy essentially because of US apprehensions about China. Irrespective an ensuing trade war, in an era of globalization there is no match still to Chinese productivity. China is fast developing Belt and Road project which will link the Chinese production lineup to the Europe/Asian markets without being dependent on US dominant shipping lanes. China-Pakistan alliance and economic corridor makes much more sense to the Pakistanis than any other prospect out there in the world under the circumstances.

Pakistani intelligentsia have made recent calls to boycott western countries in favour of China. This can be attributed to nothing more but a warning to the western world not to unnecessarily back India in her misadventures targeting Pakistan. Pakistan is as deeply linked to western world as it is to China. Huge Pakistani diaspora in the western world acts as economic, social and cultural lifeline between western world and Pakistan. Pakistani official language in practice is still English not Cantonese. Pakistan is more in tune with western capitals when it comes to the ideals of freedom of expression and democracy rather than Beijing. Pakistanis find it easier to practice their religion in Washington or London rather than Beijing or Shanghai. Same goes for food, culture, language and lifestyle choices. Pakistanis are still cautious about next generation of Chinese leadership which is growing up as single child policy children. This generation when in helm of affairs will never take NO for an answer from anyone having grown up as the only scion of the family. Having said that, if anyone is expected to be on the rite side of this generation in future would be the Pakistanis. 

It was Pakistan which linked the US diplomats to China back in the days. Pakistan will continue acting like the historical bridge between China and the western world. China is the next sole superpower of the world. USA has already lost this coveted status by waging meaningless wars for their corporations greed. China is the future leader of the world and while western countries find it a difficult prospect to cooperate directly with China, Pakistan is fast getting in a position to act as an intermediary state to facilitate this inevitable arrangement.

Western countries will continue to be the abode of choice for the Pakistanis. Family ties of Pakistani mainland with now third generation Pakistani diaspora in the western world will keep growing with time. China-Pakistan bilateral relations will also keep strengthening with ever increasing interoperability between the neighbouring countries. Pakistan will soon be in a position to become the global gateway to China's largest region that's Xinjiang. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as One Belt One Road global project's flagship aims to achieve just that and more. Pakistan with its unique connection to the western world and on ground link with China will play an important part in linking both western world and China.

In an interconnected world, no distance is too far, yet ground connections matters most for commerce and trade. Pakistan is China's ground connection to the western world and middle east in that way. Pakistan do not have to ditch either one for another rather become a connection between both.