During Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s four-nation regional diplomacy tour last week, Islamabad’s anti-India propaganda failed miserably. The tour was intended to reach out to the international community in the wake of Operation Sindoor, India’s decisive response to the horrific Pahalgam terror attack on April 22.
Following India’s Operation Sindoor last month, which destroyed terrorist facilities inside Pakistan and within Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), Sharif traveled to Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan from May 25 to 30.
The visit’s main goals were to paint Islamabad as a terrorist victim, accuse India of failing to provide reliable proof to back up claims that Islamabad was involved in the terror attack, and bring up the Kashmir dispute.
Iran and Pakistan’s relationship is still tense as both countries blame the other for not doing enough to curb the rise of militancy along their roughly 959-kilometer (596-mile) shared border. Iran began missile strikes against Jaish-al-Adl’s bases in January 2024. Jaish-al-Adl is a Balochi-Sunni terrorist separatist group that operates in the region of Sistan and Baluchestan in Iran. Iran has been charged by Pakistan with providing sanctuary to the two Baloch separatist and nationalist organizations, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
In a covert warning to Pakistan, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated, “We believe that the common borders of the two countries should be free from insecurity and the presence and activities of terrorist and criminal groups,” during a joint news conference with Shehbaz Sharif in Tehran on May 26.
According to Pezeshkian, West Asia and South Asia are in greater need of security and peace now than they have ever been, which emphasizes the necessity of constructive dialogue and consultation with neighbors and other international partners.
When he visited with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Lachin on May 27, bilateral concerns once again came into focus, with Sharif leaning more toward deepening economic ties with Baku. He reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s pledge to spend $2 billion USD in Pakistan and expand collaboration in areas like trade, defense, education, and healthcare.
Baku has been a major location for Pakistani nationals engaged in the trafficking of South Asians for further travel to the West and in the ringet of counterfeit passports and visas.
It’s interesting to note that since becoming Pakistan’s prime minister in April 2022, Sharif has frequently traveled to Baku and Ankara.
On the fringes of the first International High Level Conference on Glaciers Preservation (ICGP), Sharif met Tajik President Emomali Rahmon in Dushanbe on May 29–30. The topics of discussion included regional connectivity, trade, and cooperation on energy projects like CASA-1000.
When the Pakistani prime minister abruptly brought up the subject of India suspending the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) during his speech at the ICGP, not many people listened.
An unbiased position was even represented in the Joint Statement that was released following the talks during the four-nation visit. In actuality, Shehbaz Sharif was the one who repeatedly affirmed Pakistan’s readiness to have talks with India.
Pakistan is desperately trying to get closer to Tajikistan while dealing with a severe security situation on its western border and fighting the Taliban and Tehrik-e-Taliban (TTP).
Last December, Lt. Gen. Muhammad Asim Malik, the Director General of ISI and Pakistan’s current National Security Advisor (NSA), traveled to Dushanbe to establish a friendship with Tajikistan, which is regarded as a bastion of anti-Taliban elements.
But because Islamabad has been encouraging terrorism, which has affected Tajikistan and all of Central Asia, the Tajik civil society dislikes Pakistan. Tajikistan is adamant that terrorist organizations based in Pakistan could attack Ismaili Shias in the mountainous Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast (GBAO) region in order to cause unrest in the area.
With China’s tacit help, Pakistan seeks to increase its clout in Eurasian geopolitics.
It goes without saying that the Central Asian Republics are well aware that Pakistan has a thriving state-sponsored terrorism industry.
Each stop on Shehbaz Sharif’s four-nation tour, according to analysts, resulted in a “lesser display” of his strategic connection with Pakistan as he attempted to bolster support for Bunyan-un-Marsoos.
The author is an authority on both Eurasia and South Asia. The Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses was where he previously worked. Opinions are subjective.
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