The Policy of Pakistan is borne from the struggle of certain individuals like Quaid-e-Azam Muhammed Ali Jinnah and is set to promote the country’s image in the international community through promoting peace both internal and external.
2023 comes with new goals and priories for Pakistan. Below are some key policy priorities of Pakistan in 2023.
Political Stability in the election year
It is yet another year where Pakistanis will be going to the polls and politics will likely consume much of the time and attention in the foreign policy of Pakistan in 2023.
It is worth noticing that the country has been experiencing political instability since 2022 when a no-confidence vote was passed in April to remove the then Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Since then, there have been issues of political instability as the Former Prime Minister has on a number of times led to protests and rallies against the incumbent government.
The aim to acquire power between these political groups continues in 2023 as the country heads toward the polls in October. But what is more important in terms of the country’s foreign policy is political stability.
The previous year had been a difficult year in the political history of Pakistan. Khan’s party has been strong in 2022 winning a set of by-elections somewhere between July- October but faced a lot of court issues.
Sharing two of Pakistan Province with the incumbent government, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). All these issues raise questions like, who will win the general election?
What will be the political atmosphere, coupled with issues of terrorist activities interfering with the political stability of the country?
In all this Pakistan will seek to have a peaceful political atmosphere and prove to the whole world that the country is guided by the principles of democracy. They will also use this medium to develop stronger relations with many countries.
Promoting strong economic developmental ties with other countries
Secondly, one major aim of the policy of Pakistan is “consolidating commercial and economic cooperation with the international community.”
Pakistan in 2023 will seek to strengthen its economic development with other countries. Pakistan’s economy has been in crisis coupled with the flooding that hit the country last year.
Inflation has risen significantly with foreign reserves falling low to the level of $4.3 billion. Pakistan’s economic crisis has been a worrying situation for the country each year due to the low internal production and the reliance on external debt.
External factors like the Russia-Ukraine war and the flooding have also caused a lot of damage to the economy. Pakistan will seek to find strong economic partnerships with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf nations.
Other countries like the US have been a major watch for the partnership deals with Pakistan in the elevation of the economic challenges.
Recently, the Pakistani Ambassador to the US, Masood Khan said “Pakistan is keen to have economic ties with the US, and right now we are investing in economic ties to achieve this”.
The objective is to promote economic stability and to ensure that the country pays back the $73 loan.
Fighting Insurgency
Pakistan has been faced with an insurgency problem, especially from the Taliban group (TTP). The group is responsible for killing thousands of Pakistanis from 2007-2014.
Their rule in Afghanistan is a serious threat to the security of Pakistan. Records have it that, the group attacked the country about 150 times last year, especially in the Northern part of the country.
Pakistan will have to decisively deal with the group by striking hard on their border using various mechanisms. This will bring peace and stability to the country.
Recovery From the flood
Climate change is really affecting Pakistan causing several flooding in the country. The flood has left a third of the country under water submerging entire villages and killing several people.
For months now about 90,000 people have still been displaced due to the flood. The country will work hard to solve this problem in this year as it is one of its priorities.
During the visit of the Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari to Wilson Center on the 27th of September. He stated that “the impact of Pakistan’s recent floods as a force that fundamentally shifted the nation’s on-ground realities and by extension, its foreign policy priority.”
Promoting military and civilian relations
The appointment of the new Chief of Army Staff, General Asim Munir is expected to improve the civil-military ties.
The objective of Pakistan to promote unity among many nations and for the peace of its citizens will be determined by the harmony between the civil and military institutions of the country.
*The writer is a Fellow at The Diplomatic Insight, published by the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies
*The views presented by the author do not reflect the position of The Diplomatic Insight. Nor does The Diplomatic Insight bear any responsibility for the accuracy of the information cited.
