Opinion: Pakistan has got an ideal opportunity to revive its dormant foreign policy

Despite the high quality of its diplomats, Pakistan’s diplomacy has fallen on hard times. The country has long been in a state of crisis. And a troubled domestic front undermines foreign relations.

This is not the only reason why Pakistan is struggling abroad. Foreign policy challenges have become too complex, and we are responding with poor policy choices because of internal weakness, skewed national priorities, personalised governance, and a lack of direction and a sense of purpose. Our politicians’ fights are between themselves, for themselves, and not for the country.

Today’s geopolitical environment is defined by shifting alliances, uneasy power balances, and overlapping coalitions among big powers under the umbrella of an unsteady world order led by the US and China. As the Ukraine war, and the world response to it, has shown “the fundamental principles of peace and security” are changing, as is the concept of sovereignty witnessed in the tension over Taiwan.

Not only has the configuration of big power relationships changed, there’s also a recalibration of relations among major middle powers with ongoing “realignment and de-alignment”. The prospects of confrontation, conflict, competition and cooperation have all increased. Briefly, while there are challenges, there are also opportunities. As great powers compete for influence, countries...

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