Pakistan should develop its Indian Policy to avoid becoming a footnote in history; Shazad Chaudhry

The Pakistani newspaper The Express Tribune reported that Pakistan is surprised by India’s rising status on the international stage. For the first time, they praised the country for being significant to the globe not just because of its size and girth but also because of its impact on the world.

Notably, Pakistan’s economy significantly depends on assistance from the world, especially from The US, whereas India has surpassed the UK to become the fifth-largest economy in the world. Additionally, the country’s main objective is to become the third-largest economy in the world by 2037.

Shahzad Chaudhry, a Political security and defence expert, said, “I would write a treatise on India if I were Henry Kissinger. India’s fortunes as a State and a major actor, particularly in Asia and generally on the global arena, have undergone such a dramatic upheaval.”

To avoid becoming a footnote in history, he encouraged Pakistan to “recalibrate its policy on India by breaking from convention and turning geo-economics into a strategy.

It was a huge relief for cash-strapped Pakistan as The international community’s donated more than USD 8 billion. The country is struggling to rebuild in a climate-resilient method for last year’s terrible floods that perished 1,739 lives and affected 33 million people. The international community’s donated more than USD 8 billion.

In addition, Defence expert Chaudhry praised India for having the fourth-largest foreign exchange reserves in the world, totalling over USD 600 billion, compared to Pakistan’s present holding of just USD 4.5 billion.

Pakistan is currently suffering from its worst crisis since 1971. Through self-inflicted wounds, the political economy has been destroyed, and its standing abroad has fallen.

“Its growth rate in GDP matches the best-performing economies over the previous three decades after China,” he said, comparing India to China, the second-largest economy in the world after the US.

Chaudhry emphasised that India’s reserves increased from 9.2 billion USD in 1992 to 100 billion USD in 2004. India raised funds under its former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reaching 252 billion USD in 2014. These have soared to over 600 billion under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the GDP is over three trillion USD.

However, due to several unfavourable conditions like political unrest, unstable macroeconomic policies, terrorism, corruption, and power shortages, foreign investors are hesitating to invest in Pakistan.

According to Islam Khabar, Pakistan has endeavoured to implement several FDI-friendly policies. The nation also made extensive structural reforms to draw foreign investment that may subsequently serve as the foundation for job creation and economic growth. Unfortunately, ineffective bureaucracy, corruption, mistaken ideology, and extremism made these measures useless.

He praised India for having a “readable and effective polity,” which Pakistan has lacked since its founding. Shazad added that India is one of the top manufacturers of agricultural products and IT products.

Their agricultural yields per acre are comparable to the best in the world. Defence analysts also mentioned that despite having a population of over 1.4 billion, its political system is still largely stable and effective. Their form of government has taken the test of time and demonstrated its strength in the principles necessary for a trustable democracy.

Speaking about Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia, Chaudhry said, “While we urged them to invest the $7 billion promised for Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan’s brother, announced an investment of more than $72 billion in India”.

The defence expert claimed that India politically outmanoeuvred Pakistan in Kashmir by eliminating Article 370 of its Constitution, which granted the territory a special status without any dispute.

Shahzad Chaudry also emphasised how significantly India has impacted the world. The nation is leading a movement of the global South to represent what is essential for progress in a period of climate change, pandemics, and technological intrusion.

It has received a G7 invitation and is a member of the G20. It plans to sculpt a place for itself in the foreign policy arena and faithfully follows it.

He also emphasised India’s assistance to Russia after the EU and the US imposed sanctions for launching an invasion of Ukraine. According to him, the only country that can conduct free trade with Russia is India, which purchases Russian oil under favourable conditions and resells it to an old patron to generate indirect revenue.

Chaudhry asked, “India is claimed as an ally by two competing global military heavyweights. What else could this be if not a diplomatic coup?