The greater Asian region has turned volatile, given the unfolding axis of Israel, India, and Afghanistan, the defiance of the Afghan Taliban to end terrorist sanctuaries on its soil, and, rather, their audacious attack on the border security posts of Pakistan. The brutal war unleashed by the USA and Israel on Iran has created violent tremors in the Middle East and beyond.

Pakistan is, indeed, in the eye of the storm, squeezed by two hostile countries on its east and west, and weakened by intensifying political confrontation and an aid-dependent economy. As the war in the Middle East prolongs, the political, economic, and strategic challenges of Pakistan will leapfrog to a precarious situation. Do we have any realisation of the situation?

The Strait of Hormuz has been closed for oil ships; the oil supply to the world market has drastically dropped, with Brent crude oil prices soaring to over 88 dollars, sending shockwaves through non-oil-producing countries. Saudi Arabia, prominent among the OPEC members, has shut down its biggest oil refinery. The economy of all the Gulf States, being dependent on oil, gas, and tourism, has been worst hit by the Iranian strategy of widening the war.

Airspaces are closed, and thousands of flights have been cancelled. The affluent people, both local and foreign, from the UAE have started looking for safer places to transfer their investments, park their illegitimate wealth, and relocate to safer regions. It seems this war will change the world more drastically than 9/11.

How do we plan to address this challenge? A known columnist has appropriately commented on our situation. He says that our deep internal political divisions and self-centred conflicts — a government lacking legitimacy due to a fraudulent election; an underdeveloped, shamelessly extractive, and debt-ridden........

© The Friday Times