Pakistan Must Resist Demands From "Friends"

Someone needs to send the Pakistani government a copy of the picture book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.

In it, a pestering mouse asks a boy for a cookie, and after he obliges, the rodent gets pushier with his demands until he's moved into the exhausted boy's house.

Similarly, Pakistan is surrounded by a nest of mice, actually wolves in sheep's clothing, pressuring the nuclear-armed country through a carrots-and-sticks policy to oblige to their demands to join the anti-Iran coalition.  These countries include America, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, all bent on waging war with Iran and aware they can't do it without cooperation from Pakistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan's government has so far resisted pressure to join the war path but future prospects look precarious, unfortunately, as the government shows signs of capitulating under stress and altering policies to oblige outsiders.

This week, for example, under global pressure to reign in terrorists, the government seized hundreds of institutions run by banned outfits and apprehended their leaders.  That's the right thing to do, of course, but should be done on principle not under pressure.

Buckling under pressure sends signals to others that, if enough force is applied, Pakistan will come around and do as told.

High on the American-Israeli-Saudi axis to-do list for Pakistan right now is normalizing relations with Israel, something most Arab countries have done de facto but are waiting for 200-million strong Pakistan to do first so they can declare it officially. Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah refused to recognize Israel in 1947, and that has remained the country's policy.

While getting Pakistan to change course on Israel is a tall order, especially with Pakistani officials accusing Israelis of involvement in India's foiled attacks on Pakistan last month, the pressure is on nonetheless, and has been intensified since Khan, whose ex-wife has Jewish roots, took office last year.

Khan insists normalization with Israel is not on the table but some in his government have already succumbed to the normalization narrative.

Last month Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi told an Israeli news portal that "Pakistan is interested in advancing its relations with Israel," according to media reports, and in November MNA Asma Hadid tried coaxing colleagues to support Israel during a meeting of the National Assembly. The media also claims that the Pakistani government allowed a plane carrying a senior Israeli official to fly into Islamabad from Tel Aviv last fall. And although the Pakistani passport says it is "valid for all countries of the world except Israel," a Pakistani Jew was allowed to fly to Israel for the first time in January.

Others pushing Pakistan to establish diplomatic ties with Israel include:

• Military men: Pakistan's former President Retired General Pervez Musharraf told reporters in Dubai last month that "there is no harm to establish a relationship with Israel" as it will help "counter India," buttressing the arguments of those who say India's attacks were the "sticks" to get Pakistan to normalize relations with Israel.

• Media: Pakistan's English-language newspaper Daily News editorialized last week that Pakistan should explore ties with Israel as the two "are not enemies."
• Lobby: The Pakistan Israel Alliance (PIA) of London "seeks to build bridges and better understanding between Israelis and Pakistanis," according to its Facebook page. PIA offers ways of "maintaining relations" off-the-record, including the pre-revoluton Iranian model (recognize Israel secretly like the Shah of Iran), Jordanian model (close political and military ties without official recognition), or Chinese model (establish military contacts before political relations), according to a February 2018 post on its Facebook page.

• Literature: PIA's publishing arm Pak Israel News releases books in Urdu celebrating Zionism, such as "Zionism, Israel, and  Palestinians" and "The State of Israel: In War and Peace and Islamic Terrorism."

Even if Pakistan does sell its soul and recognize Israel, demands on the country--like those on the boy in If You Give a Mouse a Cookie--will not stop until Pakistan too is weakened to the point of collapse. These demands include helping the American-Israeli-Saudi axis wage war on Iran and the nuclear disarmament of Pakistan. Scholar Syed Jawad Naqvi predicts Pakistan will eventually be pressured to shut its nuclear program and sell its technology to Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan can learn from the disastrous affects of capitulating to outside pressures from Iran. Iran's economy is in shambles after agreeing to curb its nuclear program under a 2013 deal with the US and five other countries. Not only did the the US start putting demands on Iran's missile program next but it then backed out of the agreement altogether and imposed stringent sanctions on the Iranian nation.

Iran's Supreme Leader Imam Ali Khamanei had warned its politicians that acquiescence to demands will lead to attempts to "bring the country's decision-making...centers under their control."

“The point is Iran doesn’t follow arrogant powers,” Khamanei said in 2016. “In this war, willpowers are fighting. The stronger willpower will win."

Pakistan, too, must strengthen its resolve and resist outside pressures. That is the only way to fail the best-lad schemes of these mice and men.