Pakistan’s angle on Qatar

The break in the diplomatic ties with Qatar and its neighbouring countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Egypt etc. has major implications on not only on Qatar but in diplomatic ties with other countries as well. Observing from another angle, can this move affect Qatar’s or Saudi Arabia’s relations with Pakistan?

The nature of relation

An official statement made by the foreign office spokesperson of Pakistan specified that, “the country has no such plans” to cut diplomatic ties with Qatar. The large Sunni Muslim population in Pakistan and in Qatar could be a critical factor for its effective relations.

Pakistan’s strategy to maintain active relations with both Saudi Arabia and Qatar can be associated with its high dependency of oil imports from these countries. The recent agreement between Pakistan and Qatar for the supply of 3.75 million tons of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) for 15 years is a determining factor for their support to Qatar. It is also to be noted that Qatar is the second largest producer of LNG which is much more environment friendly energy source than oil.  Therefore, Pakistan’s reliance on the imports is economically advantageous for both the countries. To tackle the issue of energy crisis in the country apart from oil imports from other countries, the agreement of gas imports can ensure that the country will not experience a grave energy crunch.

Assessment

Security issues is an important factor that could benefit the ties between both the countries. The key reason for Qatar’s neighbouring countries to cut diplomatic ties was the accusation made on the Gulf state’s support to terrorism. In the past there have been many alleged claims for funding state run terrorist activities via Qatar, assuming the claim to be true can this break in ties generate fresh new enemies and new terrorist groups? On the other hand, Saudi Arabia has also been alleged to have run state funded terrorist activities. Considering this theory, the country’s stance on Qatar for its support to terrorism exposes its two faced nature to the world. Is this strategy similar to what the French had adopted to support terrorist activities with the condition of protecting itself from attacks?

Was the motive behind the recent meeting of the Russian and Saudi Arabia’s head to stimulate a change in the oil prices? This meeting could have a direct impact on the fluctuations in the prices thus influencing the demand for oil from these countries.