Strong & lasting friendship

Monday, December 06, 2010 - It is necessary to deal with the fall out of the WikiLeaks carefully and discreetly where they concern Pakistan’s true and tried friends and pillars of support in all difficult situations, namely Saudi Arabia, Turkey and China and of course the Gulf countries. Whatever views they may have or have had they cannot be for any other reason that that they feel for Pakistan as the most friendly blood relations would for someone with whom they identifies in its ups and downs, not as an enemy or a nation tied with timely interests which may when fulfilled will close that chapter of “ partnership”. That relationship is based on a time frame. Saudi friendship with Pakistan- or our people for it is one thousand four hundred years old. It is a unique relationship. As the proverb goes a friend in need is a friend indeed. Saudi Arabia had been there on all occasions to help us in a big way. ? It will be a very long list, from the days of Kashmir jihad, to the help in 1965 War. A general, who was sent to Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran to obtain arms and ammunition which was depleted in the ‘65 India-Pak War told me- he had been my class fellow in Aligarh University, when the list of our requirements was presented to King Faisel he said, take what you want, just leave what is necessary for our own needs., when in 1971 Bangla Desh Crisis we were left just about one hundred million dollars as reserves, it was Saudi Arabia and the Gulf which came to our help, When we were in financial difficulties the late 70s- I was at the Foreign Office, when we mortgaged our rice crop yet to be harvested , to BCCI , courtesy Agha Hassan Abidi-, Saudis gave us $ 100 million or so etc, etc. Saudi Arabia is not a “foreign” country but brothers. Only Turkey, China (and Jordan) can be placed in the bracket of reliable friends..In this Azad Kashmir Earthquake the highest assistance was that of Saudi Arabia more than USA’s and so is probably the case with the aid for the flood affectees. These are some acts of Saudi Arabia’s fraternal identification with Pakistan.

It saddened me when some people, including the media, started the vilification of Hajj arrangements . What a “secular” attitude towards the Hajj, disregarding the sanctity of the Hajj, as if some one was campaigning against the Hajj itself and some even went to the extent of “demanding Compensation”. I have myself seen the efficiency of Saudi Government in manages the hajj administration. If I praise Saudis it is not that the Saudis gave me state guest treatment when I went to perform Hajj. In any case I do not ask or seek any favours, foreign or of Pakistanis for myself. I performed Hajj in 1974 when I was Ambassador at Beirut, driving my mother and father to the Hajj in my car because the parents arrived from Karachi ten days before the hajj to Beirut and my mother insisted to take me to the Hajj. No travel or accommodation arrangements at Makkah and Medina were possible at such a short notice. My Saudi counter part offered me to perform the Hajj as a State Guests but as the Quran says Hajj is obligatory if one has one’s own financial means. I saw what a mission impossible the Saudis performed in making arrangements for a temporary moving city of 2 million. This is long ago,. Now they are far more advanced .It is possible that there were some slips but the matter should have ben handled soberly .without such great publicity. It impliedly treated the Hajj as an ordinary occasion not a sacred pilgrimage It is unfortunate that discretion was cast away even on this sacred matter. It is not easy to arrange a moving city of two million hajjis from all over the world. The most appropriate analogy I can give for relations between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is that of the relations between UK and USA. No body should use foul language against such intimate relationship. Circumspect people control their tongue on such delicate matters. Jialayas are out of place in the sophisticated world of diplomacy. Langauge of Lahori Gate is out of place in outside world of mature people. The fall out of the WikiLeaks are many. This is a matter that be left for the experts in the Foreign Office and the embassies to be looked into. Politicians are out of place, in fact they can grope in the dark and draw strange conclusions.

Incidentally, the leaks have exposed the attitude of the American high diplomats who must have affected American policy towards Pakistan, whether what they reported to their policy makers was correct or not . It would be interesting if here I quote what one thousand years ago has been said on the need for responsible and accurate reporting of the leaders of one’s jurisdiction to the Sovereign. I am quoting no less a person like Imam El-Ghazzali from his book “Nasi-hat-ul Muluk” written by him for the Seljuk King.about the damage of incorrect reporting:

Translation:” A king who had lost his kingdom was asked who among your main officers caused greatest damage to you.. Replied “Those who betrayed the trust placed in them while appointing them as my ambassadors. Entire destruction of my kingdom was due to those who betrayed the trust. As (Emperor) Ardesher has said how many kingdoms were destroyed, how much wealth was wasted, how many armies were defeated … this was all due to the ambassadors ( word used is safir) who lacked the ability and broke the sacred trust reposed in them . The great Sasanaide Emperors were very careful not to appoint any body as ambassador whom they had not tested in their loyalty. As is in the following story: They say Alexander sent an ambassador to the Court of Dara ( Darius) who brought a reply. Alexander suspected the veracity of some words in the message. He wanted to check their veracity, He asked the ambassador did you hear Darius uttering those very words, He said yes, and had it checked from Darius. “ Finding that Darius never used those words he had the tongue of that ambassador taken out from the back of his neck. El-Ghazzali also records that once Nizam ul Muluk Toosi received an ambassador while he was playing chess and wearing a ring with a precious stone which is worn only by a persons belonging to a certain sect which was against the Seljuk Sultan. He reported that Tusi belonged secretly to the anti-Sultan faction. Translation of Nasihat ul Muluk in Urdu from Arabic by me published by Fazlee Sons of Karachi)

This will show that the Ambassadors should ensure accuracy of what they see, hear and come to know as well as being careful in meeting with foreign envoys. This is the wisdom of the ages. I am avoiding to quote Chanakya who wrote his Arth Shastr more than two thousand years ago from this very land now called Potohar as the main minister of the first emperor of India’s vast empire Chander Gupt Mauriya , on the same subject. Diplomacy seems easy but its trials are difficult. Mistakes are made by those who talk to foreign envoys and foreign envoys both.