By T. Sathish
In early June of 2021, Pakistan Naval Ship PNS Zulfiquar had been on a deployment across the Red Sea and Mediterranean. During this deployment, the ship visited the Port of Aqaba in Jordon and Tunisia. The objective of this mission?…the official version was that this ‘flag showing mission’ aimed to foster new era of cooperation and goodwill, however the nature of ‘flags’ and banners displayed by the ship in foreign port reveal that the real objective of these ‘goodwill visits’ is to spread canards about other countries in the region, and paint a grim picture of South Asia.
Media reports indicate that graphic banners with photographs of alleged atrocities were hung over the ship’s hulls while in foreign ports. Such dishonourable use of Armed Forces reveals the small-mindedness and strategic myopia of the Pakistani dispensation. But small-mindedness is not a new trait for the Pakistan Armed Forces and their polity…remember the 1999 Kargil conflict, when the Pakistan Army refused to claim, rather disowned their own martyrs in the aftermath of the conflict.
With the Pakistani Prime Minister’s hysterical and un-statesman like outbursts in media falling flat, the Pakistan Navy has attempted to enhance Pakistan’s dubious image through naval deployments. PNS Zulfiquar’s ‘goodwill visit’, supposedly to participate in Exercise Sea Breeze 2021, which was later vehemently denied/downplayed by Pak propagandists fearing backlash due to participation of Israel, have to be viewed in the context of desperation, dis-information and a bankrupt strategic discourse, which have now become the hallmarks of the Pakistani State.
However, such visits and such actions by Pakistan are unlikely to lead to any tangible outcome and in fact seem as though they are a part of a half-hearted and faltering effort, to match Indian gains in this important strategic space. Take for example the reports by media outlets on a deployment by an Indian Navy’s warship to Africa and Europe from June to September, wherein an Indian frigate was to transit across the Gulf of Aden, Red Sea, Suez Canal, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea and Baltic Sea whilst making port calls at Djibouti, Egypt, Italy, France, UK, Russia, Netherlands, Morocco, Sweden and Norway. This ship was also scheduled to participate in various exercises with navies along the route including the Egyptian Navy, Hellenic Navy, Italian Navy, UK Royal Navy, French Navy and Russian Federation Navy. Now, this is a scale of deployment the Pakistani ship is unlikely to match up with. Why so? The state of Pakistani economy and consequent lack of funds for foreign cooperation brings serious limitations. Foreign cooperation is an expensive business and sporadic port visits, press releases and photo opportunities mean nothing if not followed up by concrete actions on ground, something that Pakistanis have been unable to do.
To compound matters, the continued placement of Pakistan in the FATF grey list is only bad news. Limits to international funding access, adverse impact on remittances, imports, exports and poor-risk ratings from agencies Moody’s S&P, Finch, etc are all dark clouds from an economic perspective. They effectively make potential foreign investments a distant dream. However, the Pakistan military seems unconcerned with the suffering of the common citizen. Using primarily Chinese loans, Pakistan is set to spend an astounding $ 48.5 billion on defence between 2020 and 2024. In fact, Pakistan is already one of the highest spenders on defence in the world in terms of GDP, at a stunning 4% – by far the highest in South Asia. Even in this bleak economic scenario, the fact that should be noticed is that Pakistan has managed to increase the defence budget by 6% with an announced budget of PKR 1.37 trillion (USD 8.78 billion) for fiscal year (FY) 2021–22. This allocation will represent about 16% of the government’s total expenditure for FY 2021–22.
Pakistan’s limited capabilities with respect to indigenous defence production, maritime hi-tech industry, hydrography, maritime training as also the limited availability of naval platforms has also resulted in a lack of substance to their foreign cooperation outreach. The absence of specific areas where cooperation initiatives could progress, even if funds were available, limits the scope only to initial optics in conferences and meetings, where the focus is on “what’s on the menu?”, but only gastronomically speaking.
Finally, earnest entreaties by Pakistan proclaiming that the country is a victim of terrorism, and not the cause, also does not have too many takers. The international community has been showing reducing tolerance for terrorist violence and its proliferation. Western nations, which have long ignored Pakistan-attributed terrorism for geopolitical reasons, no longer seem to do so. The same thought process is being seconded by smaller nations, whether on their own volition, or under influence of the more influential, stronger powers. The result is that a number of proposals by Pakistan Navy to foreign partners in respect of cooperation initiatives are met with bridled enthusiasm. The fact that Pakistan is not even a member of significant Indian Ocean initiatives such as the Indian Ocean Rim Association is telling.
It is apparent that the qualitative and quantitative gap between India and Pakistan is the widest (favouring India) not only in the realm of naval development, but in foreign cooperation outreach. To overcome the relative cold shoulder that the Pakistan Armed Forces are getting from other nations, Islamabad has turned toward China. Pakistan has long sought to facilitate the enhancement of Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean, by tapping its strategic geographical location in the Arabian Sea. “We can provide facilities, ports, logistics, maintenance among other things,” a PN official had recently remarked. The result is that Chinese presence in IOR is increasing, in concert with Pakistani support…but that is another story for another day.
In conclusion, while prudence demands that one steers the ship away from a storm using a statesmanlike approach, Prime Minister Imran Khan seems to be on a mission to feed his starving population on an opioid of weapon procurements and ‘goodwill visits’, instead of stabilising the economy. The Prime Minister and his military also seem to have been blindsided with their obsession to malign and slander India through all means. If nothing else, Pakistan Navy ships on deployment, like Zulfiquar, simply serve as a very costly 3000 Tonnes billboard for cheap propaganda and nothing else!
