Ishaq Dar’s year-end presser exposes where Pakistan must introspect

Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar gave a long ‘end of the year’ media conference on December 27. Its objective was to render an account of the country’s achievements in the realm of foreign policy in this year.

Dar is a long-time and trusted associate of the Pakistan Muslim League (N)’s leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is the elder brother of current Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Like the Sharifs, he belongs to the Kashmiri biradari and his son is married to Nawaz Sharif’s daughter. Dar is an influential member of Pakistan’s political class. His media conference therefore merits attention. It opens a window into Pakistan’s national and foreign policy ambitions, bilateral relationships and policies. It also shows the slavish attitude of the Pakistani political class towards the country’s military.

Dar’s opening statement and answers ignored Pakistan’s current situation. This is best demonstrated by Dar asserting that as Pakistan is already a nuclear and missile power, if it were able to achieve economic success, it could lead the Muslim ummah and the world! Pakistan continues to live on the dole.

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Indeed, Dar expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia, China and the UAE for rescuing the country’s economy by lending it $5, 4 and 3 billion, respectively, to shore up its macroeconomic situation. It is in no position to repay this amount. Mentioning the UAE, he said that Pakistan wants it to roll over the debt and also convert it into investments in Pakistan.

The fact is that unless Pakistan’s establishment and political class are willing to mend their ties with India and undertake fundamental structural socio-economic reform, it will continue to remain on an economic ‘drip’. They are unwilling to move in these areas.

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In these circumstances Pakistan’s ambition of becoming the ummah’s leader is divorced from reality; it is delusional and quixotic. Besides, there is no space for the ummah’s leadership. Saudi Arabia will not brook a challenge to that position, least of all from Pakistan. This is notwithstanding the Strategic Partnership Agreement it signed with Pakistan this year.

Two principal reasons for the foreign policy high which Pakistan is currently experiencing lie in its misinterpretation of the results of the four-day kinetic India-Pakistan action in May and the upturn in its ties with the US.

It is no accident that Dar began his statement by giving the Pakistani version of the India-Pakistan military action, which is divorced from the truth. Not surprisingly, he noted that Pakistan had achieved ‘fateh’ and claimed that it downed seven Indian aircraft on the first day. He went to refute that it had lost any F16 aircraft, nor had it launched drones against fifteen Indian targets. He said that his foreign interlocutors had accepted these Pakistani assertions. He admitted that the Nur Khan base had suffered some damage and some personnel there had been injured.

Dar went on to state that the ‘ceasefire’ was a result of US and Saudi mediation. He also said that prior to and during the four-day conflict, he was in contact with his counterparts in the US, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, China, the UK, and others. He said that these countries did not want hostilities to reach a flashpoint between two countries possessing nuclear weapons.

There was nothing new in what Dar said but it is noteworthy that it persists with its claims. India has made it clear that the cessation of hostilities was achieved bilaterally between the two countries and was a result of Pakistan’s DGMO contacting his Indian counterpart. India has also acknowledged that it suffered some aircraft losses on the first day of the conflict but later re-strategised and was able to strike all across Pakistan. Clearly, any objective assessment would find that it is this demonstrated ability that led to the contact made by Pakistan’s DGMO.

Dar also made two points about the result of the four-day conflict which are noteworthy. He said that it showed that India’s claim that it was a net security provider in the region was shattered and that the conflict raised the global priority of the Jammu and Kashmir issue. What Dar overlooked was that India has never made claims of being a security provider in the region. It has stressed its role as a first responder in times of natural disasters. And, there is no appetite in the world to intervene in Jammu and Kashmir; India has made it clear through the decades that J&K affairs are in its sovereign jurisdiction.

Another issue which Dar raised was India holding the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. While rejecting this step, he did not say that stopping waters flowing into Pakistan would constitute an act of war. This was significant because Pakistani spokespeople have emphasised this in the past.

India has demonstrated that it will continue to act in its best interest on the IWT. This is the correct approach. On Operation Sindoor, India should consider giving as full an account as is possible to quell any misperception about what India ultimately achieved. It is true that some statements have been made by Air Force Chief ACM Amar Preet Singh, but it would be preferable if a statement were made by CDS, General Anil Chauhan, on the issue in an open media conference. The new year is an occasion to do so.

Dar was almost gloating at the attention that Donald Trump has begun to pay to Pakistan after the conflict. He recalled that both Field Marshal Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had met Trump at the White House. He paid special attention to the increase in Pakistani exports to the US and mentioned that the US tariff on Pakistan was the lowest among South Asian states. He also mentioned that the US was interested in making investments in exploring critical minerals in Pakistan. Significantly, he also said that Pakistan had undertaken advocacy on Iran’s behalf.

Dar also spoke of how Trump, by making 60 references to mediating peace between India and Pakistan, was the best promoter of Pakistan’s success in the conflict! He also confirmed that he had, on Pakistan’s behalf, formally recommended that Trump be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2026. There is no doubt that the US-Pakistan relationship has been radically transformed through this year. India cannot but note this development as it impacts its interests.

Dar emphasised that improving ties with the US would never be at the cost of its relations with China. He repeated all the cliches about Sino-Pakistani relations and the constant contact between the two. Significantly, he asserted that Pakistan looks after China’s interests in forums where it is not present and when India makes negative comments on it in multilateral settings. This is what a junior partner does, but then Pakistan has always willingly accepted being China’s vassal.

Dar was especially happy at the warmth imparted to Pakistan-Bangladesh relations and specifically recalled his visit to Dhaka. He said that all sections of Bangladeshi opinion want good ties with Pakistan.

What Dar omitted to mention in his statement was Pakistan-Afghanistan ties. In the Q/A session he asserted that Pakistan’s only request was that Afghan territory should not be used against it. It was waiting for Afghanistan to do so. He paid special emphasis on rail connectivity via Afghanistan to Central Asia and beyond. In fact, Pakistan-Afghanistan differences are rooted in Islamabad’s desire to control Kabul’s India policy. On their part, the Afghans have insisted on having independent and positive relations with India.

Interestingly, Dar fumbled when a journalist pointed out to him that Pakistan’s borders with three of its four neighbours were closed. This needs Pakistan to introspect, but it is incapable of doing so.

(The writer is a former Indian diplomat who served as India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan and Myanmar, and as secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views.)