I believe now that Musharraf has failed in the basic foreign policy test set forth by the Western democracies in recognizing Israel as a state, he is bound to try and charm China. Indeed in his first assassination of Ms Bhutto when the western press was challenging him eyeball to eyeball, he thundered at the journalists berating them for their gossip mongering and eulogized the Chinese journalists for reporting the truth. China and Pakistan, it must be remembered have stayed for long what qualifies in international relations as great pals. Indeed a number of Chinese friends invested their energies in learning Urdu when Pakistan was otherwise little known in the world for its culture. Chinese journalists naturally have been far more generous in their dealing with Pakistani matters than what they actually deserved. It was then the beginning of what should go down in history as Musharraf’s desperate charm China policy. In short when you are strong you cannot see any city except Washington, yet when you start losing power you all of a sudden realize that you are sitting next to Beijing. I have no illusions that this new policy like the “recognize Israel” policy, in which he never recognized Israel but always used his meetings with the Israeli leadership to project an image of moderation in the west. (Read my previous post ‘Should Pakistan Recognize Israel?’). Why do I believe it won’t succeed this time? Because I know that the Chinese leaders have enough vision and foresight not to associate them with a dying order which has only turned to China after being rejected from everywhere else and did nothing substantial for the country. China is very conscious about the sentiments of the Pakistani people and is aware of Musharraf’s standing in Pakistan. (To Read This Article in Chinese Click Here) View Full Article »
