Pakistan & UAE: Building a Community of Power
shireen
Contributing Editor Dr SHIREEN M MAZARI discusses the strong relationship between the UAE and PAKISTAN
In March there was news that Pakistan and the UAE were involved in a cooperative dialogue. This was a positive development in the region which should bode well for both countries. Given this author's premise that global relations will, in the future, evolve around the concept of Communities of Power, an evolving cooperative framework could be the beginnings of a community of power in this region.
What exactly is a community of power? As defined by this writer, it describes interstate relations at multiple levels encompassing economic, social and cultural linkages and interdependence, where the military factor is one of the inputs. It is this level that is becoming increasingly more important, with states grouping together after identifying multiple levels of congruent interests. And it is this multiple-level state interaction that is going to define international relations more and more - where the military factor, while still an important part of the equation, will be simply one of the factors defining global relations. Within such a framework what one will see are not 'poles' of power or 'centres' of power, but communities of power - where 'community' denotes multipolarity of interests and 'power' denotes the element of military and/or economic force. For Pakistan, it is this framework that must be developed, regionally and globally - and for the UAE such an option means a multiplication of power potential within the global and regional system of states.
From a Pakistani perspective, there are minimal grounds of dissension with the UAE and numerous factors of commonality, and the same is true for the UAE in relation to Pakistan. Apart from the underlying Islamic bonding, there is already a history of military cooperation between the two countries and Pakistan has provided a spate of advisers to the ruling houses of the Emirate Kingdoms. In addition, there is a personal affinity between many of these ruling families and Pakistan and private visits to this country are frequent for members of the ruling families.
On the other side, Pakistanis form a large chunk of the massive expatriate community in the UAE - from workers to businesspeople to technocrats. And the element of military cooperation still remains active at various levels, including the presence of officers from the UAE at the various military academies and colleges in Pakistan. So the question then arises as to why Pakistan and the UAE should seek the building of a community of interest which would involve more formalised cooperation at the economic, social and military levels?
Rationale for Pakistan
From Pakistan's perspective, a cooperative relationship with the UAE forms an ideal basis for developing a larger community of power in West and Central Asia over the long term. Pakistan would eventually offer the ideal bridge between these two regions. And of all the possible partners for the building of a community of power, the UAE is in many ways the most ideal choice for Pakistan.
One, there already exist many levels of formal and informal interaction and cooperation between the UAE and Pakistan. So Pakistan can build on these foundations.
Two, despite all these linkages the UAE on many fronts continues to tread a very careful path on conflictual issues between Pakistan and India. For instance, on the issue of Kashmir the press in the UAE has strict instructions to follow a moderate middle path so that neither the Pakistanis nor the Indians have reason to be 'upset'. This is because the Indians have a greater degree of penetration into the UAE - at the unofficial level especially. Indian business has a massive presence within the UAE that penetrates all sectors from industry to the press. Indian workers and technocrats are also present in huge numbers and the Indian entertainment industry has already invaded UAE society. And the Indian government has very successfully compelled the UAE into adopting an 'even-handed' approach on issues such as the Kashmir issue. So, despite all the economic assistance that the UAE is ready to dole out, Pakistan needs to move towards a more encompassing formal alliance with the UAE to move the latter away from the so-called 'even-handed' approach.
Three, the location of the UAE offers a natural basis for a security alliance in the region, offering Pakistan a strategic rear in terms of naval and air power. Also, the British-Pakistani organizational structures of the armed forces of both Pakistan and the UAE would allow a natural military cooperative base.
Four, with no outstanding political issues or competing political ambitions, it would be relatively easy for the two countries to move towards formal alliance-building.
Five, Pakistan can - if it can overcome its own sectarian divides - act as a natural bridge, over the long term, between the UAE and Iran through into Central Asia. With the economic power of the UAE and the military power of Pakistan, a viable community of interest can be built up beginning with a cooperative alliance between the UAE and Pakistan. Pakistan can provide the base for a security arrangement for Central Asian states as well as West Asian states. After all, if the Germans and French could resolve their very substantive political differences, and Christian sectarian issues died a natural death within interstate relations of Christian Europe, there is no reason why Pakistan cannot act as an arbiter to resolve any Arab(UAE)-Iranian differences. Given the new notion of communities of power, Islam is now a critical factor to be considered in power formulations - and, given the military weaknesses of most West and Central Asian states, Pakistan is ideally placed to be the focal point of a defence pact along the lines of NATO. After all, if the West considers NATO not only a continuing viability but also within an expanded framework, then the model is also viable for other regions where a core military power exists. The strength of this core state will be relative to that of the other regional states - with no need for a comparison between the NATO core state and this state.
Rationale for UAE
If the UAE wants to move beyond simply being an oil-rich entity, which for the present attracts Western indulgence, and convert its economic might into overall multiple levels of power to become a significant regional actor, then it needs to evolve formal alliance structures with other states of the region. That it has the economic base to evolve a community of power should not be wasted, but why should it look towards Pakistan?
One, Pakistan has already proved to be an ideal partner for military cooperation with the UAE, in a limited fashion. also, Pakistan has a natural respect and affinity for the rulers and people of the UAE and the relationship has many substantive levels at which it now operates.
Two, a nuclear Pakistan offers the professional and military inputs needed to build a community of power.
Three, such an alliance will, over a period of time, reduce the UAE's technological and military dependence on the West. In other words, it will simply be looking to the West as a buyer with other choices - and will not need to have a security dependency on the West which it has at present.
Four, not only does the UAE need to diversify its oil-based economic power, it can, with Pakistan, become a critical regional actor so that it can fully exploit its geopolitical potential.
Five, it can act as the base for a further nexus of alliances with the rest of the Arab world from a position of strength and solidity. Moreover, within a community of power framework it can also become an effective actor within the global arena of international institutions.
Six, it has the potential to become an important regional power only within such a framework as so many smaller Western European states have done through the EU, NATO or the notion of the Nordic Council. In one shape or another, it has been not simply a community of interest that has made these groupings influential, it has been a community of power in one form or another - based of course on a commonality of multiple levels of interest and coalescing identities. For the UAE, there is more potential in a formal alliance and commitment in a community of power with Pakistan than in simply walking the diplomatic and political tightrope between Pakistan and India. Also, it needs to become less dependent upon the West both militarily and economically and, on both these counts, a nuclear Pakistan allows the UAE greater choices. After all, simply becoming a financial magnet in the region is not enough - look what happened to the economically prosperous and developed Lebanon as it was rent apart by external armed interventionist forces.
Finally, for both Pakistan and the UAE, uniting together in a formal community of power will mean less manoeuvrability for obscurantism forces. In fact this will hold true as more and more Islamic states coalesce together - and as the Arab world and Iran reach a substantive base of understanding and cooperation which is a real possibility within the community of power framework.
So what would be the blueprint for such a Community of Power?
Blueprint
The multiple levels of interlinkages between Pakistan and the UAE that identify a sense of 'community' of interests have been identified above. As for the underlying 'power' element needed for the establishment of a community of power, Pakistan's nuclear capability provides a solid dimension to the military element of power - with the UAE buttressing this power foundation with the required economic strength. So how does the community of power translate itself into a reality?
Building the power base
The first formal structure that needs to be created is a military alliance since that is the base of the community of power. Between Pakistan and the UAE such an alliance would in many of its dimensions simply be the formalisation of multiple levels of military cooperation that has existed between these entities. Also, the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) provides a limited military cooperative framework which could be transformed into a wider military alliance between the GCC members and Pakistan. Of course, in such an instance the Western military inputs would be reduced and eliminated and replaced by a Pakistani military presence.
A formal military alliance between the UAE and Pakistan would need to comprise inter alia the following terms and commitments:
One: That the alliance would be a collective defence pact in keeping with the terms of the UN Charter, where an attack or intent to attack any one of the member states would be seen as an attack against the whole collectively.
Two: The geographical framework of the pact would have to be defined clearly and would include the entrance to the Persian Gulf as well as a reasonable security zone beyond Pakistan's territorial waters. The land frontiers of the pact members would be the other geographical bounds of the pact.
Three: There would need to be a built-in provision for the natural expansion of this community of power at a later date to eventually include - if those states so desired - other states of the Arabian peninsula and Iran. Or there could be an arrangement between this community of power and another one which could evolve between Pakistan, Iran and the Central Asian states. With Pakistan as the common denominator, the suspicions and antagonisms between the Arab World and Iran could be mitigated over a period of time.
Four: There would be joint command of the alliance military forces, but if at a future date nuclear weapons were deployed on UAE soil, military control would rest solely with the Pakistanis.
Five: That there would be standardisation of all military hardware and weapon systems as well as force structures.
Six: A first step in building a formal military alliance would be the establishment of a Pakistani military presence in the UAE in terms of bases and weapons deployments. The geography of the pact would demand a greater investment and focus on naval and air deployments - with a blue water navy becoming a necessity over a period of time.
Seven: The economics of such an alliance would be worked out keeping in mind some of the earlier arrangements that involved limited military cooperation between Pakistan and the UAE. For the UAE, such an alliance would allow it to end Western military intrusions from Britain and the USA - and that would have a financial aspect also.
Included in the dynamics of such an alliance would be the technical infrastructure which could be located in the UAE and in Pakistan. Also, an extensive intelligence gathering network would have to be set-up in the UAE. By its very nature, such an alliance would expand the power projection of both the UAE and Pakistan, especially given the economic dynamics of energy and oil that emanate from this region. The UAE would not be seen as it is presently seen - as a unidimensional oil-rich state that also provides a pleasurable lifestyle but little else in terms of international political weightage. For the location and economic potential of the UAE should translate into a more substantive international presence.
Economic cooperation
Building on the military power base, economic cooperation leading to an eventual common market would be the thrust of the community of power. Luckily, in the case of the UAE and Pakistan the private sector is already heavily involved in cooperative ventures - especially Pakistani technocrats and business people moving into the UAE market. However, a major drawback is the unwillingness of the UAE government to allow foreigners to own property. Eventually, within a community of power, the UAE will have to liberalise many of its present laws relating to business and property. On the other side, UAE nationals, including their ruling families, already own property in Pakistan and are involved in social welfare projects around the areas where they own major real estate. The exact nature of how the ownership rights have been worked out are not public knowledge, but there is a feeling that the UAE ruling families have a fair amount of freedom of action in this field.
Pakistan has to clean up its infrastructure to attract economic investment - and merely having formal alliances will not do this unless the indigenous climate is investor-friendly. Such an alliance should be a strong motivating force for this clean-up.
Free movement of peoples - especially professionals - will evolve once Pakistan is able to curtail the problem of illegal migrant workers. A formal community of power will also act as a strong deterrent for obscurantist proselytising forces as well as reducing safe havens and refuges for terrorists.
Again, a more formalised cooperative framework would enable the UAE and other Gulf countries to send oil pipelines across Pakistan into South Asia within a secure security arrangement which would also address Pakistan's problems on that score.
Political & social sector cooperation
Political cooperation in terms of coordination of foreign policies would give both Pakistan and the UAE a weightier presence in international organisations and in other international fora.
Within the UN, this community of power could be the beginnings of seeking to restructure the UN along the lines of giving such groupings permanent representation within a completely revamped UN system.
Again, Pakistan could also give the necessary weightage to a collective Arab world approach to the whole Palestinian problem including recognition of Israel. And there are many more opportunities for similar collective policy formulations within the regional and global levels. Moving beyond the purely political, Pakistan can also offer the skilled manpower in many fields where presently the UAE employs Western professionals at very high cost - such as the medical and teaching professions. Cultural affinities also add to the benefits from such cooperation. All in all, by building a community of power Pakistan and the UAE can evolve a progressive Islamic polity which can be a forerunner for other such communities of power.
In the post bipolar world, what is not being grasped by the Islamic world is the fact that gradually the West is building up a psychosis in its polities against Islam - very similar to what Hitler did in relation to the Jews. This is what a sensitive Westerner married to a Pakistani and living in Pakistan pointed out last week after witnessing an anti-Muslim tirade from a UN employee. And unless the Muslim world is prepared, it will be overwhelmed by this anti-Islamic onslaught of the West. After all, lessons of history must be learned, not ignored. And since Pakistan is the only Muslim country to have a nuclear capability, it must use the opportunities that the capability offers to forge a sense of community amongst the Muslim countries of the region - but this sense of community can only become effective when it is backed by power. Hence the need to build communities of power which are founded on a power base and reflect multiple levels of cooperation and interaction.
