Sajid Ali Bangash<\/p>\n
After gaining independence, Pakistan, India, China, and Japan took different paths. China and Japan have done real\u00adly well, while Pakistan and India have struggled. The reason for this is the choices these countries made about how to deal with oth\u00ader countries and how to develop their own coun\u00adtries. In other words, this divergence can be attributed to the foreign policy choices made by these nations and the leader\u00adship\u2019s approach to national de\u00advelopment.
\nThe foreign policy of a nation plays a pivotal role in determin\u00ading its international relations, economic partnerships, and geopolitical positioning. In the case of Pakistan and India, for\u00adeign policy decisions have often been marred by regional con\u00adflicts, strained diplomatic rela\u00adtions, and geopolitical instabil\u00adity. These factors have hindered their ability to fully capitalize on their potential for growth and development.
\nConversely, China and Ja\u00adpan have pursued foreign pol\u00adicies that have fostered eco\u00adnomic growth, technological innovation, and global influence. China and Japan have become very strong economically, even though they had big problems after they became independent. China\u2019s economy has grown a lot, and Japan has become one of the richest countries in the world. They did this by focusing on peace and making good plans for their country\u2019s growth, instead of fighting wars. These two coun\u00adtries were able to achieve the ap\u00adparently unachievable targets of success in ends of economic and technological growth, only be\u00adcause they said \u201cno\u201d to war and followed constructive policies based on peace and tranquility.
\nAfter the Aug. 1945 debacle of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Jap\u00adanese King Hirohito was able to convince his nation that wars in future are going to be extreme\u00adly expensive and devastating and impossible for any nation to af\u00adford. He advised his nation to re\u00adsist the temptation of seeking vengeance on American aggres\u00adsor and try to build up their ca\u00adpabilities in the fields of edu\u00adcation, science and technology. This foresighted leader told his nation that arena of war has now shifted; wars in future will be fought in schools, colleges, uni\u00adversities, laboratories and fac\u00adtories and not in the tradition\u00adal battlefields. Japanese took the advice of their leader and decid\u00aded to endure their humiliation at the hands of Americans, with pa\u00adtience and restraint.
\nOn the other hand, unfortunate\u00adly, the leaders of India and Paki\u00adstan had a hard time working to\u00adgether from the beginning. They failed to address critical issues such as the disputes over Kashmir, Siachen, and Sir Creek. Even to\u00adday, both countries have not made earnest efforts to resolve these is\u00adsues. This has cost both countries a lot of money and caused prob\u00adlems with other countries. They didn\u2019t learn from China and Ja\u00adpan\u2019s peaceful ways, and this has stopped them from growing.
\nHistory and common sense both support this fact that in or\u00adder to establish peace, one par\u00adty often needs to make unilateral sacrifices. In the end, the par\u00adty that appears to be losing by sacrificing its established rights may actually emerge as the vic\u00adtor (the Hudaibia Peace Pact, made by Hazrat Muhammad PBUH, stands as a prime exam\u00adple for the Muslims of Pakistan). The leadership of Pakistan and India should acknowledge the changing realities of our times and, instead of clinging to tradi\u00adtional thinking, adopt a progres\u00adsive and forward-looking out\u00adlook for the future. They should realize this fact that they have missed chances to do better, and that China and Japan have done much better. They need to change their foreign policy to fo\u00adcus on talking and working to\u00adgether instead of fighting. They also need to invest more in ed\u00aducation, science, and technolo\u00adgy to help their countries grow. They can learn from China and Japan\u2019s success by choosing peaceful and smart ways to work with other countries. This will help them and the whole Asian region to have a better future.
\nThe writer is a freelance columnist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sajid Ali Bangash After gaining independence, Pakistan, India, China, and Japan took different paths. China and Japan have done real\u00adly well, while Pakistan and India have struggled. The reason for this is the choices these countries made about how to deal with oth\u00ader countries and how to develop their own coun\u00adtries. In other words, this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[13285],"class_list":{"0":"post-386556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-sajid-ali-bangash"},"yoast_head":"\n