Diverse landscapes and diverse Cultural Panorama

Pakistan, the land of diverse landscapes and diverse cultural panorama, it graces the world at the Western end of the Indo Gangetic Plain bordering India, China, Afghanistan, Iran and the Arabian sea coast. Geography has blended with the destiny of the country in more than one way: proving to be an opportunity at times and a handicaps at others. The region where Pakistan locates has been focus of the geopolitics for centuries. There is a Great Game going on between regional states and other world’s power to grasp over the energy and oil resources of Central Asian Republics. The Great Game was actually a term used for strategic rivalry between British Empire and Russian Empire to gain supremacy in Central Asia. The New Great Game is a current competition between the US, Rsussia, Turkey, Iran, China, India and Pakistan to secure reliable long-term resources of petroleum and natural gas through the construction of oil pipelines in the post Soviet Nations of Central Asia.

At the end of the Cold War the opening up of new Muslim Central Asian Republics who were rich in resources but landlocked heightened the geo-strategic importance of Pakistan. The Russian withdrawal from central Asia after its defeat created a power vacuum in Central Asia. Pakistan having its cultural and historical links with Central Asia is fully capable to fulfill this vacuum.

The flux at the end of the cold war provided the context that allowed Pakistan to pursue this strategic vision. Even after the end of the cold war Pakistani rulers believed and hoped that Pakistan because of its geostrategic importance is capable to fulfill US,s strategic and geo-economic interests in the region. Pakistan sought front line state despite of the withdrawal of Soviets and US from Afghanistan.

In fact contrary to popular perceptions Pakistan has assumed the role of a front line state much before even the Soviet Union’s intervention in Afghanistan. There is evidence that Islamabad’s involvement with Afghan mujahideen goes back to 1974 while USSR intervened in 1978-79 in Afghanistan. The politics of aiding mujahideen was linked with objectives of geopolitical objectives of the Pakistani rulers. They had visualized a role for Pakistan the contours of which went much beyond Afghanistan and included the Central Asian Republics of the former Soviet Union. A friendly govt. in Kabul was to provide the much-needed strategic depth against India and a land bridge toward Central Asian. After the disowning of Central Asians states by Soviet Union Pakistan rushed into fulfill the gap. Pakistan was the First country to send delegation to all the Central Asian countries in November-December 1991, led by the then economic affairs minister of state Sardar Assef Ahmad Ali.