Last week, ‘Eurasiafuture.com’ published a treatise captioned “Pakistan: The Global Pivot State” written by Andrew Korybko, who is a political analyst, journalist and a regular contributor to several online journals. He is also a member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia. The author referred to the CPEC and Belt and Road Initiative, which is important for China; but he also highlighted the geo-strategic importance of Pakistan. He started his treatise with the opening: “Pakistan’s promising economic potential, international connectivity capabilities, and unparalleled geostrategic location combine with its world-class military and proven diplomatic finesse over the decades to turn the South Asian country into the global pivot state of the 21st century. As astounding as it may sound to most observers, the global pivot state of the 21st century isn’t China, the US, nor Russia, but Pakistan”.
One should read the captioned article on the above website, as no other writer whether Pakistani or foreigner has summed up the geostrategic importance of Pakistan. The author has given objective analysis in detail to show that Pakistan is a force to reckon with, and he used all superlatives for the emerging global player. He went on to write: “Major investment players such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE are jumping at the opportunity to take part in this before any of their competitors can, wanting to get ahead of the race by establishing a premier presence in Pakistan as it becomes the shortest trade route between their economies and China’s. Simply put, Pakistan is the pivot state upon which all of China’s future plans depend, therefore recasting it as the kingmaker of the New Cold War and the world-changing multi-polar processes of the 21st century”.
Pakistan, indeed, has all the ingredients that could make it a modern welfare state. It has industrious people, vast areas of land, variegated seasons suitable for various crops and fruits, rivers, large coastline and abundant natural resources. Its mountains and valleys are the most scenic in the world. Its strategic position, which is confluence and meeting point between Sinkiang of China, Iran and Central Asian Republics, is acknowledged by all and sundry – foes and friends alike. Its principle city-port Karachi is a convenient route for Central Asian States for trade with the western and other countries. And with the completion of Gwadar deep-sea port, it has the potential to become a hub of international trade. Apart from that, Pakistan is rich in culture, as people of various provinces with regional languages and traditions make it a beautiful bouquet reflective of unity in diversity.
The people of Pakistan are proud inheritors of traditions of great saints and poets who fostered the message of peace and brotherhood over the centuries. Pakistani cuisine is characterized by a blend of various regional cooking traditions of the subcontinent, Central Asia as well as from its Mughal legacy. Various cuisines are also derived from Pakistan’s ethnic and cultural diversity, which offer unique culinary art praised by the foreigners. Pakistan’s cultural heritage includes archaeological sites, stupas, forts, shrines, tombs, buildings, monuments, and places of worship.
It possesses remains of several ancient civilizations; the most famous is Indus Valley Civilization dating back to 3,000 BC – its sites are Moenjoaro (Sindh) and Harrappa (Punjab), and Buddhist civilization in the north. The historic monuments represent various periods of our history and demonstrate the rich cultural milieu of the land, which is a great attraction for tourists.
We find historic Hindu temples in Tharparkar (Sindh) and Punjab, Sultanante period monuments in Makli Tombs, Thatta, in Multan and Uch Sharif, and Mughal monuments in Thatta, Multan and Lahore etc. From the mighty stretches of the Karakorams in the North to the vast alluvial delta of the Indus River in the South make Pakistan a land of high adventure for tourists including trekking, mountaineering, water rafting, mountain and desert jeep safaris as well as camel and yak safaris. High Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindukush ranges with their alpine meadows are tourists’ attractions. Over and above all, Pakistan is an atomic power, which is a pride of Muslim world. Its people and armed forces have the ability to meet any challenge posed by internal and external enemies of Pakistan. And they have the capability and the will to defend the motherland.
In September 1991, the Ministry of Defence Production was created to promote and coordinate the military production facilities. The ministry also includes seven other specialized organizations devoted to research and development, production, and administration. By early 2000, a joint project of China and Pakistan developed the JF-17 Thunder fighter. Pakistan also has taken major steps to achieve self-sufficiency in aircraft overhaul and modernization. So far as missile technology is considered, Pakistan is considered one of the leading countries of the world. The author, quoting the Quaid-i-Azam concluded: “Prophetically, Pakistani founding father Muhammad Ali Jinnah predicted all of this when he famously proclaimed in 1948 that Pakistan is the pivot of the world, placed on the frontier on which the future position of the world revolves, and each passing day proves that he was right.”
—The writer is a senior journalist based in Lahore.
Source: https://pakobserver.net/pakistan-a-global-pivot-state/
