Pakistan urged to increase influence in ME

The seminar titled ‘Changing Scenario in the Middle East and its Impact on Pakistan’ was organized by Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies in Islamabad.

Some speakers even asked Pakistan government to create military bases in some of Middle Eastern countries.

The seminar was chaired by former foreign ministdf Inamul Haq who said the idea that Pakistan should establish military bases in the Middle East is not feasible given the limited resources of the country.

He called for increasing the Pakistani workforce in the Middle East instead and strengthening the country’s economy.

He also emphasized the need to understand the changing scenario in the Middle East and the role of the US in this context and urged the government to maintain a close relationship with Mideast countries.

Commenting on Iran, the diplomat added that Iran has fulfilled its requirements under the nuclear agreement signed with the P5+1 (JCPOA).

He noted that no one can find fault with Iran’s commitment yet the US is imposing new sanction against the Islamic Republic under the pretext of its missile program.

Other speakers said Pakistan should establish a military base in the region and called for the formulation of a comprehensive national policy on the region.

It was discussed that Pakistan is directly linked with the current situation as billions of dollars are sent in remittances from the Middle East region to Pakistan. They say Pakistan must play a leading role in the Middle East.

Speakers viewed that Pakistan should take advantage of the situation in the Middle East and called for exploring bilateral relations with each country, rather than treating them as one entity.

During the seminar, it was also said that after the visit of Donald Trump to Middle East (Riyadh visit), lots of changes occurred in the region and campaign against Qatar was started.

The experts said western countries are trying to capture the energy recourses of Muslim countries.

They were of the view that western states are trying to divide Muslims to weaken them.

The participants also blamed dictatorship in the Middle East for the disconnection between the state and society and called for more participation by the people in decision making.

Some of the speakers said the US is facing continuous defeats in the Middle East.

They said that leadership of Saudi Arabia is going into the inexperienced hands and that is why different conflicts are emerging in the Middle East.

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