The Verdict
Why Pakistan should focus on Iran’s CPEC entry rather than fighting India

Why Pakistan should focus on Iran’s CPEC entry rather than fighting India

Many argue that India wouldn’t necessary like the idea of Iran joining CPEC – a perception that doesn’t hold...

Ahson Saeed Hasan September 13, 2015

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that trading blocks and economic alliances rather than geo-political rivalries and deadlocks are the key ingredients of success in the modern-day world. Gone are the days when building military might and muscle would enhance the prestige of nations or make them stand head and shoulders above the rest. The evolution of European Economic Community (EEC) into a prosperous European Union (EU) and the transformation of South East Asian economies into a formidable Asian Tigers unit only go to show that economics trump over politics.

Without digressing much, Pakistan’s recent offer to Iran to join the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is nothing but a heartening development. By heartening one is not implying anything persuasively or melodramatically emotional but a realistically prudent measure that essentially, if it comes to fruition with Iran deciding to join the organisation/corridor, would help overcome a few hurdles along with opening up opportunities for the teeming regional millions.

So what’s in it for Pakistan?

What will the possible inclusion of Iran in the CPEC framework mean to Islamabad’s economic and strategic interests? Pakistan needs friends. Having refused military assistance to the Arabs this past spring, it is unceremoniously exiting the good books of its ‘brethren’. It became obvious that the Arabs had unfriended Pakistan when the UAE foreign minister criticised Islamabad for staying out of the conflict – a statement that kicked up a massive social media storm, and secondly when the Arabs hit back by signing a $75 billion ‘infrastructure’ deal with India – a deal that many believe could have gone Pakistan’s way had its leadership decided to fight the Houthis.

Moving on, Iran’s inclusion in CPEC will help Pakistan in a number of ways. One, Iran’s re-entry into the active international fold after the recent lifting of sanctions bodes well for Islamabad. For Iran, there’s no looking back. Trade and economic representatives from all over the world are scrambling to Tehran to woo Iran to do business with them. Analysts are predicting a turnaround of fortunes for the Iranians as well as transformation of the oil market mechanistic dynamics.

For Pakistan, Iran’s resurgence is nothing but good news, especially as far as the long forgotten Iran-Pakistan pipeline project is concerned. There is now a reason to believe that some progress will be made in the changed set of circumstances.

Moreover, this could be the moment of truth that Pakistan can possibly utilise to alleviate Iran’s age-old grievance of fanning sectarian strife and Sunni extremism in the Iranian areas that border Balochistan. Iranians are tough cookies when it comes to diplomacy and negotiation. The world witnessed the astuteness with which Foreign Minister Javad Zarif was able to talk it out with the Western powers and navigate a nuclear deal that pretty much gave the Iranians the much needed breathing space that they’d been looking for for decades. By aligning itself effectively with Iran, the benefits that Iran will end up deriving on account of the absence of sanctions can be passed on to Pakistan.

Additionally, the fact that Pakistan has been under the influence of deadly Wahhabism for eons now, those shackles may possibly be loosened if not completely broken now. Iranians are, by outlook, a much moderate genre of people compared to the Arabs. One can hope that the Ayatollahs take a chill pill and let Iranians be themselves, the way they were in the Shah’s time, liberal and unfettered by religious extremism. That moderation can certainly have a trickledown effect on those Pakistanis who have adopted radical views of faith.

Although the Chinese have been leery of a nuclear deal with Tehran, Beijing now seems enthusiastic in letting Iran get on with the proceedings in the post-sanctions world. There are plenty of infrastructure related opportunities that Iran offers and with Tehran now keen on mobilising its people and businesses across borders, the Chinese will be equally anxious to grasp whatever comes their way.

Iran and China are both wary of the ISIS and the Wahhabi menace. Their interests truly converge by virtue of each having to deal with extreme Islam in one way or the other.

Many have argued that the Indians wouldn’t necessary like the idea of Iran joining CPEC – a perception that doesn’t hold water. To my mind, India has completely flown out of the mind-set whereby it would have serious jealously issues with Pakistan. Whereas it is absolutely understandable that it is difficult for Pakistanis to realise that India is in a different league now, one that is characterised by success in economic terms instead of parochial geo-political concerns.

India has its bases well-covered. It’s on the right side of most, if not all, major international players and has made its mark as an important world economic power. It is on account of its goodwill that UAE had no hesitation inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ink the historic bilateral agreement and effectively ditch Pakistan in favour of India.

Gone are the days of hobnobbing and tinkering. It’s all about numbers now. India is more concerned about feeding the mouths of millions of hungry souls out on the streets and slums of its mega cities that need basic necessities of life. The emphasis now is on surpassing China and other emerging powers in the sphere of economic development – a progressive pattern of thinking which is right in line with the changing times that we find ourselves in.

The UAE-India agreement language was interesting. It seemed someone constructed, the agreement with Pakistan’s terrorism issue in mind. There was a constant mention of coordinating ‘efforts to counter radicalisation and misuse of religion by groups and countries for inciting hatred, perpetrating and justifying terrorism or pursuing political aims’. To me, at least, this was nothing less than an ‘ouch’ moment. I thought this could have been worded differently to make the language sound less pinching for Pakistanis. Rubbing salt on one’s wounds is all I could think of.

I’m writing this piece on the day when we in America are remembering those who lost their lives on the fateful morning of September 11, 2001. The day brings back sombre memories and reminds us that aggression never pays and while Pakistan is trapped in its insecurities vis-à-vis geographical integrity and religious beliefs, for someone as gullible as me, the CPEC offer to Iran is a great development. It could become a historical turning point, provided Pakistanis and Iranians stay focused and work on human priorities, build infrastructures, and learn from China’s global success.

Having said that, let’s not celebrate too prematurely. The journey is painstakingly long. While the first step is the hardest, patience, perseverance and persuasiveness will be the critical factors in turning a well-intentioned strategic move into a super-duper success story.

WRITTEN BY:
Ahson Saeed Hasan The writer is a proud American and a peacenik who has travelled to over 80 countries and lived in four continents. He tweets @tweetingacho (https://twitter.com/tweetingacho)

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS (120)

Gratgy | 7 years ago | Reply Necroposting much?

loyalindian | 8 years ago | Reply You think its an apple to oranges comparison because you have lack of understanding about Pakistan energy portfolio. Oil is the leading source, if not the biggest, of energy in Pakistan. Iranian gas competes with oil not with existing gas sources. And iranian gas is actually more cost-effective than furnace. Your links do not prove that furnace oil is cheaper than iranian gas. Thus Pakistan has enormous benefits of importing this gas. If you read my comments from start till now that's what I have been saying and my point of view remains consistent. It is you who first insists that you don't see any reason why India would get the gas at a discounted rate and it is you again who says that the same gas somehow becomes cheaper when it comes through a deep sea route. Ah and yes I forgot to mention that it was you who doubted the credibility that such a route is in plans because somehow you only heard about it on pak newspapers who perhaps were making up stories. If you had read your own given link carefully you would have realized that Pakistan can renegotiate the price under clause 6.3. The same way Italy has done. Iran is not so stupid to charge any country a rate which is way above market benchmarks. The whole world knows that price of energy products is volatile and thus such clauses are always part of the agreement to re-adjustre-adjust according market movements.

Anoop | 8 years ago Iran has charged above market price before and it will likely do so again if there is any negotiation. Your negotiations are so incompetent that they had a clause that if Pakistan fails to build the pipeline in XYZ time, Pakistan will have to pay penalties up to millions of dollars per day. Iran didn't insist on this and I don't see why it won't use this as a leverage. Your comments are pure speculation. Coming to India, like I said Iran is just one of the suppliers of hydrocarbons for India and our negotiators are pretty awesome. We got the nuke deal by dumping Iran, we will get a line to the same Iran and get Oil/Gas. I don't see why India will spend Billions and get a raw deal. Qatar has LNG that we can buy at market rate, not to forget the new supplier in town - US. Our suppliers are diversified and there is intense competition in an era oil consumption has stagnated all over the world and India is the only market which is growing rapidly. IP gas line is not an emotional issue in India, unlike in Pakistan, its pure business. We will squeeze more of it than you guys can because you are so invested emotionally into this. I am not saying Gas becoming cheaper, but the question is what is the actual worth, which is called market price. India will get the same gas as Pakistan, but will manage to get a better rate and avoid paying Pakistan. Win-Win.

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Imran Younis | 8 years ago | Reply A strategic move from Pakistan, India will know after a decade...Hello Indians..!! Keep up your relations tight with USA... :D

Swaadhin | 8 years ago | Reply The issue with the leftists is they oppress believers when they are in complete control of a country but when they are asked to function in a democracy like India, they completely surrender to the most believing who also happen to be the most intolerant. If you hate the BJP so much, you should think of working on an alternative rather than cribbing the fact that the so called alternatives have been routed in the last elections.

Swaadhin | 8 years ago | Reply "I support Pakistan's decision of not sending troops. It has worked well for India." In the long term, it would have helped India even more if the Pakistanis had fought the Houthi's backed by the Ayatollahs of Iran. It would have created a further divide between the Shias and Sunnis within Pakistan other than the fact that Iran is a neighbour of Pakistan and not the Arabs, from an Indian point of view the Arabs have already done the damage by helping Pakistan until now, Pakistan will not have any economic importance for any country for atleast another 15 countries so we need not worry about the Arabs or the Chinese being able to put Pakistan in a comfortable position economically. The only way Pakistan can be stopped from being obsessed about India is by keeping it busy fighting other wars.

Anoop | 8 years ago Absolutely agree with the last part. They are doing a great job of this.

Anoop | 8 years ago | Reply You should read more newspapers. http://www.dawn.com/news/1051432 “We have an agreement with Iran that we will buy gas for $15/ MMBTU. However, Turkmenistan is supplying gas to Japan at a rate of $4/ MMBTU,” “By paying a high price, Pakistan will generate electricity for Rs15 per unit. However, the government should not forget that Independent Power Producers (IPPs) installed in Pakistan are not very efficient so the cost of per unit electricity could further increase,” I tempted to write "lol". I don't know why Pakistanis have accepting the word of an Indian. I speak after reading a little bit about it. China is wise enough to talk itself into good deals. Their population is barely expanding and their Economy is slowing. It is unlikely they would need more gas to fill their needs - cheaper gas is always welcome, but more gas makes no sense if usage has reached saturation point. India dumped IPI for many reasons. 1) US offered a nuke deal, too hot to resist. 2) Iran was about to be sanctioned. Can't risk investments to a country about to be sanctioned! 3) The pipeline had to pass through hostile territory and Iran wanted to charge India for gas which left their processing units, rather than India paying for gas which has reached its shores. Say, somebody in Pakistan decided to blow up the pipeline, India would have to pay for gas it hasn't even received! 4) This will create a dependency on Pakistan. We have to pay Pakistan simply being in the middle, for transportation and mainteance costs. Pakistan can hike up the costs anytime and make this entire project unviable. In times of war or tensions, Pakistan can and will use these options. 5) The price negotiated by Pakistan is way too high! I don't see why Iranians will agree to give the same gas to India at a lower price. 6) Iran sanctions have been lifted for a period of 10 years. You never know if Iran will be sanctioned again! 10 years is like a heartbeat when it comes to Geo-Politics. What will happen to ths pipeline after 10 years, if Iran is re-sanctioned? Money down the drain.

loyalindian | 8 years ago You do not address at all the points I mentioned. Instead you totally focus on other things. Its ironical you preach me to read newspapers but you seem to know nothing about the deep sea pipeline India is planning to build between Iran and itself. If ever Iran gas was "so expensive" India would not be planning a way to skip Pakistan. If the IPPs are inefficient. Then they are inefficient for everything whether natural gas from iran or furnace oil from Pakistan. So mentioning them is sort of useless. The article you mentioned does not shelve the idea of Iran Pakistan gas pipeline but in fact stresses the government to re-negotiate the price of gas from Iran because it was finalized on basis of furnace oil (which even according to article is more expensive than Iranian gas). If you go back to my comment this is what I exactly mention; that is, Iranian gas is cheaper than presently used furnace oil. As far as China is concerned, despite its period of slowdown, it will still be looking to find new sources of energy. It will still be looking to drill in South China Sea. Its still growing by roughly 5% on a huge economic base. Chances of it not requiring further energy are very slim.

Anoop | 8 years ago | Reply You and me both know Pakistan did not send troops due to Iran's objections, but because they are stretched thin as they have heavy deployment on Eastern as well Western borders. Blessing in disguise really, for the Cash Cows of Pakistan in the Middle East know Pakistan will fight for them when they need it most. Pakistan has been punching above it weight for way too long because of UAE and Saudia!

loyalindian | 8 years ago Nope. Perhaps you know. Not me. The decision was result of concerted policy not to get involved in far away foreign conflicts. Iran is Pakistan's neighbour Saudi is not. Besides now both Iran and Pakistan depend a lot on each other with regard to economic benefits of IPC pipeline. Pakistan would not have needed to send 10000 soldiers for the fight. Even 500 would have been enough as a symbolic gesture. Pakistan did not do that. Shows a tectonic shift in policy.

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply That is your assumption

loyalindian | 8 years ago Of course. If she is not fighting Al-Qaeda, Taliban and all other terrorists in Afghanistan then she is definitely fighting the aliens.

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply Bill Clinton Maybe Lol!

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply "Did Pakistan create nukes from US funding ? Does Pakistan have only one source of income? Pakistani nukes could be funded by US or by China or by none. Nothing is proven" Exactly, Al Qaeda could be funded by Pakistan, Saudi etc. Are you saying Al Qaeda has only one source of income, Nothing is proven "All the weapons both groups used, the tanks, the training and thus their whole enterprise was a US funded baby." So was your army when they created the nukes, so did US create your nukes "Post war the Afghan part renamed itself as Al-Qaeda and the Pakhtun part was then called Taliban." Rubbish, was Osama Bin Laden an Afghan? The mujahideen after the war broke in seperate groups under different warlords such as Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Ahmed shah massoud, rabbani and Dostum etc and continued to fight with each other in the civil war post the Soviet withdrawal. Pakistan wanted to have its player in the field and hence created the Taliban much later who were entirely trained in Pakistani Madarsas bordering Afghanistan AFTER the afghan war Taliban means students not Mujahideen

loyalindian | 8 years ago "Exactly, Al Qaeda could be funded by Pakistan, Saudi etc. Are you saying Al Qaeda has only one source of income, Nothing is proven" Al-Qaeda's resources, that is all human, financial and military, were funded by US-led coalition which included Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and several other countries which fought the war against communism. So Al-Qaeda pretty much had one source of income which was the US-led coalition. So can you pinpoint that Pakistan created nukes majorly from US funds or Chinese funds or none. Nothing is proven,. But yes all funding for Mujahideen operation came from US led coalition. Thats proven. "So was your army when they created the nukes, so did US create your nukes" Pakistan army has variety of weapons ranging from Russian, European, Chinese and American. And they were not funded. They were bought. Big difference. Al Qaeda was financed by US. Al Qaeda never bought anything from US. Pakistan has. And that cannot be called funding or financing. Besides Pak army was not alone in creating the nukes it involved scientists, army, public and several external agencies. Your analogies at best are funny. "Rubbish, was Osama Bin Laden an Afghan?" When the Soviet war broke out in the 80s the US sucked up all the extremists worldwide and created a force called Mujahideen. The force had locals (mostly Pakhtuns) and foreign fighters (mostly Arabs). My bad on the fact I wrote Osama as Afghan. He was/is an Arab. And the mijahideen was a mixture of foreign and Pakthtun fighters. The foregin group broke off called itself Al-Qaeda. The local group Taliban. Taliban mostly constitute of Pakhtuns. And Pakhtuns are majority ethinicity in Afghanistan. Pakistan had to come to terms with understanding with one authority in Afghanistan and most powerful were the Taliban. Taliban were created in 1992. Thats after all dust was settled and infighting done in Afg and there was one clear winner in Afghanistan; which was the Pakhtun group called Taliban. Thats when Pakistan recognized the Taliban otherwise they would never like an adversary in their neighbourhood. "Taliban means students not Mujahideen" When did I say that it means Mujahideen?

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply Nope! No one wants to eat garbage

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply US is fighting the Taliban who were created by Pakistan ? So Where in the video does she say "US created Al Qaeda"?

loyalindian | 8 years ago Ahan. So you mean US was not fighting Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Right. Thats news. In the video she clearly says "we funded them". I have explained that in detail already.

Alien | 8 years ago | Reply Common sense is the thing lacking in Pakistanis.

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply But where does she say "we funded Al qaeda" the organisation?

loyalindian | 8 years ago Well I suppose she is fighting aliens in Afghanistan!

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply How original Lol!

loyalindian | 8 years ago But lol. Have you?

loyalindian | 8 years ago | Reply Well there is inconsistency in her position and I pointed to that already. I don't think I need to further clarify on this. It is all on records.

Headstrong | 8 years ago Not 'need to' but you don't 'want to' because you 'cant'.

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply Where does she say "we created alqaeda"

loyalindian | 8 years ago "The people we are fighting today we funded them 20 years ago". Pretty crystal clear.

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply You are just a pest

Headstrong | 8 years ago | Reply Duh!

loyalindian | 8 years ago Ya. You see. That's really easy to overlook. Finally you realized.

Pak will rock you will see it | 8 years ago | Reply Iran entrance to Economic corridor will be a blessings

Pak will rock you will see it | 8 years ago | Reply how you can expect something positive when Indian pm is a well known terrorist.... He was banned from USA visa? Not he? When you elect these type of people then forget about peace and harmoney…...Pakistan needs to get so strong and every front where we can tell,you want war,we are ready.....stop this nonsense socalled peace dialogue, the country who broke you in two parts and involved in 99.9 terror activities in your country, want peace dialogue? Is this a joke?Pakistan should raise on every world forum all raw activities in Pakistan......Our ISI should focus on India now....Enough is enough.....

Ejazul Haq | 8 years ago | Reply Iranians are great thinkers that they cannot forget the support India extended to Iran during its difficult times. Iranian's are great thinkers that they cannot forget the fact that India always rejected all Western pressures in its bold deals with Iran. The US administration had subsequently recognized India's close relations with Iran and softened its position. Iranians are great thinkers that they are not able to ignore what is going on in Pakistan against Shias. Iranians will not forget that it was India which jointly supported the Northern Alliance along with Iran in Afghanistan against the then Taliban regime and still jointly supporting the existing anti- Taliban government. It was India which included Iran as an observer state in the SAARC regional organization. Iran frequently objected to Pakistan's attempts to draught anti-India resolutions OIC and other international bodies Iran is the second largest supplier of crude oil to India. Don’t forget Iran’s Chabahar port project with Indian aid and help. Iran is fully happy with strong relation whip with 'secular' India than rabid jihadi state Pakistan.

someone | 8 years ago | Reply In my opinion, Pakistanis think that this corridor is some sort of Aladin's lamp which is home of a Genie who is eager to fulfill the wishes of all the Pakistanis and Genie would do it in no time. This corridor would be one way traffic for Chinese goods to already flooded Pakistani market. Even for the Chinese goods going to middle east through Pakistan, Pakistan would not be able to charge too much as transit fee because Chinese would not like it. The greater purpose this route or Gawadar port would be the military one. Everyone knows that. Chinese navy would have its naval base here. Pakistan would be more than happy to have Chinese presence to counter Indian navy.

Frank Mossman | 8 years ago | Reply Including Iran in CPEC is indeed an excellent Idea, particularly if there are adequate transportation facilities from Gwadar to Iran. That would take out the wind from Indian sails as regards Charbahar. And, why stop at Iran ? Roping Turkey into the equation would allow passage of product & produce from China, Pakistan, Iran & Turkey into Europe (and vice versa) by rapid rail links, in addition to seaborne transportation from Gwadar. India is welcome to the UAE. The trajectory of oil prices (and hence the importance of the Arabian Gulf) is downwards. Is India willing to commit ground troops to Yemen? That is the crux of the issue, the acid test. If it will not, then this newfound bonhomie with the UAE will rapidly turn sour. If it does, then what will be the reaction of Iran ? If Trump gets into the White House then you can be sure that Indian expats in the US will start feeling the heat, and the long simmering resentment against them will boil into open hostility. This will affect their "nascent-superpower" status considerably.

Headstrong | 8 years ago Acid test? Neither UAE nor the Sauds will ask India to commit troops there. They would only ask those nations who are already beholden to them for their largesse. And you really think that persuading Iran to join the CPEC would talk them out of Chahbahar? If this is your understanding of econoics, then good luck to you.

syed & syed | 8 years ago | Reply There is complete harmony between Sunnis and Shias. Iran is liberal but not allowing western style of living which, unfortunately, Pakistan is following nor a hard liner like Wahabis who attacked Yemen only for the reason that Yemenis were not ready to accept neo nazi type Islam of Saudis

Sane | 8 years ago | Reply India has done its best to save its 'investment' in Afghanistan and Baluchistan, but failed miserably. PCEC (Pakistan China Economic Corridor) is a nightmare for India. Indians are trying their best to sabotage this, but are failing and shall fail.

Anoop | 8 years ago Chinese are giving you loans. You will have to hire Chinese companies to build infrastructure projects(which means the money will flow back to China) and you will have to pay back every dime! How will you generate the money to pay back the loans, when Chinese will refuse to pay overland rights for goods transported on the roads they will claim they funded in the first place? The only country which was giving you raw cash was US and you guys have effectively broken that trust. Thank god for that!

Bana Post | 8 years ago Dont cry What u got in your state to sabotaged by the Indians.The process of down fall had already been commenced.Do have any fine tuned system in u r HOLY STATE. Mere one project PCEC is not going to bring flufh and blood to u r ailing economy.

Milind A | 8 years ago | Reply "I disagree with your presumption that Pakistan is interested in fighting India. That naturally comes when you try to analyze Pakistan through Washington's lens.Pakistan had effectively moved on from Anti-India mindset"

Pak will rock you will see it | 8 years ago Ya any doubt about this.....even a kid can tell its India who want to eat pak.....

Headstrong | 8 years ago | Reply "you seemed to me like an indian more than a muslim" - there goes your credibility!

Simla | 8 years ago | Reply He can see a bit more clearly probably because he is outside Pakistan.

Usman | 8 years ago | Reply Who told you that?? They seriously have no problem with us and I'm a witness of this.

Enkay | 8 years ago You should know how Arabs treat Non-Arab Muslims.

Anoop | 8 years ago This happened few months ago. http://www.wsj.com/articles/iran-says-militants-from-pakistan-killed-eight-border-guards-1428425641 For the above, they routinely do this. http://www.dawn.com/news/1138622 "Iranian border guards attacked a vehicle of Frontier Corps, a para-military force, inside Pakistani territory killing one FC man and injuring three others on Friday morning." Wake up from your deep slumber.

Raj | 8 years ago This ummah story does not work my friend........ a maloomi is a maloomi in Arab world.... So you and I have to go there for work and nothing else....the arabs will fall at the feet of white masters or colleagues but will treat an asian like a slave only......thats their culture.... please dont blame advanced muslim cultures like Iranians or asians who have some sense on account of Ijtehad !!!!!!!

Milind A | 8 years ago Unless you were born yesterday, you will often read cross-border raids in your Balochistan, by Iranian revolutionary guards looking for Jundullah militants - one of the many troublemaker groups, you continue to host.

Parvez | 8 years ago | Reply On the Pak - Iran pipe line your views make sense. On the India - UAE agreement regarding countering terror activity, I feel you have misread it....remember that the UN has in a report named the UAE as a state that provides funding to religious militants abroad.....possibly it was worded with the view to curtail this.

Headstrong | 8 years ago pakistan is routinely mentioned in such reports. "Charitable" organisations there are proscribed. David Cameron has stated on record that 90% of the world's terrorism can be traced back to pakistan. Hillary Clinton has written in her book "Hard Choices" that pakistan breeds snakes in their backyard, which are now coming home to roost, if I may be allowed to mix metaphors. Are cherries grown in pakistan that commentators from there so often pick them?

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply "have you seen the villages and how indians are dying their in horrible situations?" Lol! Have you?

loyalindian | 8 years ago Lol! Have you?

Gratgy | 8 years ago | Reply "have you seen the villages and how indians are dying their in horrible situations?" Lol! Have you?

mimi sur | 8 years ago | Reply Hmm..But we rarely care about this gas pipelines. India has plans to produce renewable energy in abundance to cut dependency on middle-east . Now all most all Indian major cities have introduced metro systems run by electricity . Solar and Wind parks are being installed in light speed .Gov is distributing LEDs at subsidized rate .You can say, We will need petrol and gas for next 20 years, then we have to come to sun and Wind. And Mr. Modi is proactive in this .

Saud Bin Farooq | 8 years ago | Reply I really enjoyed the writers self acceptance that the "pinch" in the UAE India agreement points to Pakistan... Yet not to mention the RSS in India or even how there more Indians working in the Middle East than Pakistanis which prompted this, the UAE didn't ditch Pakistan, we didn't send boots to do their bit of "counter" terrorism is Yamen.. This is something which was expected and frankly speaking not of that importance to us, all thats left now is to realign our ties with Russia and we're well set to build this nation once again.

Anoop | 8 years ago Dude, Russia is in deep recession and will remain so for a long time.

Swaadhin | 8 years ago You need to speak of RSS because the world talks of Hafiz Saeed and LeT which you have no response to, so you think of countering it with by talking about RSS, the issue is RSS has not killed a single westerner rather it's political associate is highly pro west, the world does not share most of your concerns because they don't want to go as wrong as you have. Pakistan being an ally of Russia or for that matter any country other than China is laughable, You need to have leverage in a relationship in international diplomacy and you have none in any of your relationships including that of China, You are confusing nuisance value to strategic importance and leverage.

Bana Post | 8 years ago | Reply "Pakistan had effectively moved on from Anti-India mindset." Nothing but bogus. "Just compare the election campaigns on both sides of the border in last elections" Modi came to power on good corruption and free governance not on anti muslim sentiments. Mr Modi has nothing doing with Pakistan's flourishing economy.

Bibloo | 8 years ago It is not Paks that have an aggressive stance. It is the Hindustanis who are a nation that runs on Hate. With 'Chief Hatemonger' Modi sitting on the India's throne, not much can be done, in the forseeable future. When a large portion of the Hindu Deshis are disenfranchised, like the Dalits, the lower castes, the Bengalis, and the ethnic minorities like Ladahkhis, Keralites are considered non entities, then Hindu Desh is not much of a going concern is is? This is not even including the Muslims/Kashmiris. They are in a special designated class, mark for genocide. Since ET is a Hindu paper, doubt this comment will pass the Hindu moderators, slaving in the basement, by candlelight.

Bana Post | 8 years ago | Reply "Pakistan had effectively moved on from Anti-India mindset."- bull sh**t. Modi came to power on assurance of good,corrupt free governance and anti congress waves. Not as you r perception " what people wanted to listen from their prospective rulers." Mr Modi is nothing doing with u r flourishing economy. "Pakistan had effectively moved on from Anti-India mindset."-

Bairooni Haath | 8 years ago | Reply That should work. Iranians hate Pakistan more than the Indians or the Afghans

Pak will rock you will see it | 8 years ago Bullsits

Humza | 8 years ago | Reply The author is unfortunately either very naive or purposely ignoring the reality that India has tried its level best to stop the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. India is still obsessed with Pakistan and is actively involved in fomenting trouble through its agents working from Afghanistan. By contrast, Pakistan has moved on and the only issue of contention is occupied Kashmir. No less a figure than the US Defense Secretary Chuck Hegel is on record for revealing Indian involvement in cross border intrigue against Pakistan. The UAE and the other Arab nation states can do what they wish with India in terms of investment. That is their perogative alone and does not impact Pakistan in any real manner. The reality is that all nations do what is in their best interests. Despite the financial incentive it was not in Pakistan's best interests to get involved in Yemen's internal conflict and it was a strong reaffirmation of democracy that parliament discussed and decided against involvement. If the UAE wants to cozy up to India as a result, so be it but it's great that Pakistan is doing what is best for itself. The language of the UAE's agreement with India mentioning terrorism is laughable coming from an Arab state and the UAE will learn only soon enough what type of political partner they have in India. You may argue that India is in a different economic league but don't underestimate the deep rooted problems of India which no amount of "Make in India" hype can counter. The Indians may be better than Pakistan in projecting their nation as a place to invest but they haven't fooled many serious players in the world. Several of my business friends from the West were quickly disillusioned the moment they landed in India after all the hype they heard. Modi has not been able to put a postive spin on his lacklustre performance to date.Strange to see a US based writer not know better.

Swaadhin | 8 years ago Yes it is all about projecting and Pakistan is dealing with fools from America's to Asia Pacific who are willing to buy Indian success story, the only intelligent people are the Chinese who have kept all their eggs in your basket or so you believe, ever asked the Chinese why do they invest in your country while the entire world is scared to he'll to even step into the land of pure; you may continue to wait until the fools of this world join the league of intelligent.

Headstrong | 8 years ago But it is not strange for commentators to attack a writer if his views do not perfectly align with theirs. 1. Who is obsessed with whom is perfectly reflected in the media columns of both countries. On any given day, ANY, count the number of articles on India in your news, and count the number of articles on pakistan in Indian newspapers. That might give you a clue. 2. CPEC - India has never even raised the issue with pakistan. Don't flatter yourself - you're not the issue here. India has raised it with China as China objects to Indian presence in the 'disputed' waters of SCS. Just paying them back in their own coin. We can't stop you from gifting away Gwadar and your business interests, you're free to commit hara-kiri. 3. Chuck Hagel's statement was well before he became Secretary for Defence. He certainly changed his tune thereafter, didn't he? And, while we're talking of "no less a figure", do study David Cameron and Hillary Clinton's statements too. One is "no less" that a sitting PM, the other was "no less" a Secretary of State, and a potential future President. Cherry picking statements may win you some brownie points, but certainly no one is fooled. 4. Modi's performance is anything but lack lustre - your "business friends" are probably telling you what you want to hear. Do check what they do behind your back - probably making a beeline to find investment opportunities in India. By no means is Modi claiming that everything he's done is successful - but in 18 months he has certainly built up enough confidence within India and without that we have reason to be optimistic. Either way, we make do without handouts, which is more than can be said of you people.

UvWx Yz | 8 years ago | Reply After reading the whole article i found not a single thing related to the Iran getting any benefit from joining CPEC. Only thing mentioned again n again is UAE-India deal. So while writing this piece you should have mentioned how iran will benefit from joining CPEC e.g establishing refinery at gawadar to send it oil to china through oil pipeline and also a possible deal for gas pipeline from iran to china through CPEC. Other possible avenue is trade not only to china but also to central asian countries through CPEC as Afghanistan route will be unstable for unseen period of time. Rest of the deals would be more of military not related to CPEC. But Pakistan could benefit in term of greater trade with iran along the IP project. CPEC can also open route for china to other linking state with iran e.g turkey.

vivek | 8 years ago | Reply Iranian's are great thinkers,they will not forget what good Taliban did to their diplomats in Majari sheriff in Afghanistan. The second largest Shia population in the world after Iran is India so If it come to them India or Pak , it's India.When under sanctions India imported oil from them and again when all banking sectors were closed to them India started their Rupee account and gave them food,medicines etc,what Pak did at this time of crisis nothing.The Iranian aim is to build the pipeline not to Pakistan but extend it to India where it can export 10 times more gas what Pakistan needs and also know's that for India there is no need to beg for money from others to execute this line.

Pak will rock you will see it | 8 years ago Pak can easily make pak-china-iran_Russia block,if they use common sense.stop thinking about hidden enemies USA or west world....

Oats | 8 years ago If you think Iranians care so much about Shias in India or elsewhere you are wrong! Iran was suffering under Western sanctions so the Iranians had to cave in - plain and simple. Iran may benefit from lifting of sanctions but they need Pakistan more than Pakistan needs Iran. Iran knows it.

Arsalan Zaheer | 8 years ago | Reply i don't understand why pakistan would become upset with UAE india deal.we have no problems with UAE neither we consider UAE as a strong arab country.saudis and egyptians are considered strong economical and military powers,keeping israel away from arabs.we have no problems with saudis.when modi was complaining to take action against dawood ibrahim assets in arab, saudi king termed it as a conspiracy against pakistan.you have written this article to show to the world that india is more powerful and arabs hate pakistan but this is not reality.who cares about UAE? we have china in our friend list and now russia has termed us important allies.i don't even consider UAE,an important part of arab.whatever they are doing with indians,is business.have you seen the villages and how indians are dying their in horrible situations? you seemed to me like an indian more than a muslim.unfortunately most of the muslims in america are paid well to write against muslims of arab and asia.russia will soon release papers related to 9/11 CIA drama,much to your discomfort.

Swaadhin | 8 years ago So as for your analysis a Muslim cannot be an Indian and all Muslims must agree with your idea of all that is Muslim in the world.

DK | 8 years ago | Reply CPEC is a river of molten gold that will flow down from China into Pakistan. China desperately needs to share its wealth and has identified Pakistan as its best ally. Smart Pakistanis will find a spot along the CPEC highway and be the first to enrich themselves. Bring lots of buckets.

Ahsan | 8 years ago | Reply While I agree with the assertion that Pakistan should focus on economics, I disagree with your presumption that Pakistan is interested in fighting India. That naturally comes when you try to analyze Pakistan through Washington's lens. Pakistan had effectively moved on from Anti-India mindset. Just compare the election campaigns on both sides of the border in last elections which gives an important perspective on what people wanted to listen from their prospective rulers. Pakistan's forces are busy on western border and had no interest in engaging on the eastern border. But immediately after Modi's takeover, the border has flared up while Pakistanis are reminded everyday how India is working to isolate Pakistan from the world. We Pakistanis have enough on our plate. Tell us what you are doing sitting in Washington about improving Pakistan's perception.

An Indian | 8 years ago Dear, that flare up has been due to Pakistanis trying to keep the pot boiling by pushing in terrorists or more generally simply by keeping the LoC hot so that the world community shows some interest in it. After all, what can be better at attracting attention than a threat of nuclear war. That's precisely what the likes of Munir Akram and other cowboys from your stable have been shouting out for anyone who cares to listen. What the pakistani uniformed leadership and their assorted lackeys did not bargain for is that India would hammer them to the ground, not just on the LoC, but also on the International Border. And moreover while India hammers them, the world will simply stand aside, for once, and let the pakistanis take a pounding. That's where the grave miscalculation occurred for the brasshats and one for which they are paying very heavily.

Bana Post | 8 years ago "We Pakistanis have enough on our plate." haa ha ha haaa then why are u begging.

Anoop | 8 years ago Nonsense. Your assumptions are: a) Pakistan is not instigating LoC violations. b) anti-Pakistani slogans can win you elections in India, even gain votes. a) LoC violations were happening before Modi came to power. We all remember the statements of Rehman Malik. If you look at ET or DAWN archives, the violations occurred mostly during Summer or just before the dawn of winter. LoC violations must happen for a reason. Remember it is India which has built a electrified border fence with round the clock monitoring, NOT Pakistan. India fears infiltration from Pakistan, which happens when Pakistani Rangers give cover fire for infiltrators to sneak in. India's vigil will be disrupted if there is LoC firing. India's current strategy is to make LoC cover fire very costly to Pakistan. India can afford to spend its money and has spare resources for the LoC, Pakistan is in a bad situation over all and is stretched thin. That is why you see extensive push-back along the LoC. b) If anti-Pakistan statements can win you elections why isn't every politician doing it? Why has BJP been out of power for the past decade? The common voter only cares about local and national issues. Same as in Pakistan. At least we have functioning Democracy.

Gratgy | 8 years ago No one talks about Pakistan in election campaigns in India. Your newspapers pick up selective statements from nobodies and print them to get a feeling of self importance. Look at this paper, every day you have an article about Modi and your papers remind you everyday how India is working to isolate you. Your papers pick up obscure events in India which do not even make it to Indian newspapers. In fact Pakistan is hardly ever mentioned in Newspapers in India You even went hysterical over some has been actor saying something.

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Why Pakistan should focus on Iran’s CPEC entry rather than fighting India

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