Geo Strategic Significance of Pakistan
Geo Strategic Significance of Pakistan
Geo Strategic Significance of Pakistan
• Owing nearness to strategic location, such as choke points on major sea route
• May be reservoir of strategic minerals, like oil, iron, uranium ores etc.
The elements of geography and politics, or the geo-politics deeply influence the
policy-making and conditions of a state in international affairs. The geo-politics and
geo-strategy are applied to evaluate the strategic importance of a state.
Pakistan is located in the North Western part of the South Asian subcontinent.
Pakistan occupies a position of great geostrategic importance, bordered by Iran on the
West, Afghanistan on the North West, China on the North East, India on the East, and
the Arabian Sea on the South. The total land area is estimated at 803,940 square
kilometers.
The boundary with Iran, some 800 kilometers in length, was first delimited by a
British Commission in 1893, separating Iran from what was then British Indian
Baluchistan. In 1957, Pakistan signed a frontier agreement with Iran, and since then
the border between the two countries has not been a subject of serious dispute.
In the northeastern tip of the country, Pakistan controls about 84,159 square
kilometers of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. This area, consisting of
Azad Kashmir (11,639square kilometers) and most of the Northern Areas (72,520
square kilometers), which includes Gilgit and Baltistan, is the most visually stunning of
Pakistan. The Northern Areas has five of the world's seventeen highest mountains. It
also has such extensive glaciers that it has sometimes been called the "third pole." The
boundary line has been a matter of pivotal dispute between Pakistan and India since
1947, and the Siachen Glacier in northern Kashmir has been an important arena for
fighting between the two sides since 1984, although far more soldiers have died of
exposure to the cold than from any skirmishes in the conflict.
The Pakistan-India cease-fire line runs from the Karakoram Pass west-southwest
to a point about 130 kilometers northeast of Lahore. This line, about 770 kilometers
long, was arranged with United Nations (UN) assistance at the end of the Indo-
Pakistani War of 1947-48. The cease-fire line came into effect on January 1, 1949, after
eighteen months of fighting and was last adjusted and agreed upon by the two
countries in the Simla Agreement of July 1972. Since then, it has been generally known
as the Line of Control. The Pakistan-India boundary continues irregularly southward for
about 1,280 kilometers, following the line of the 1947 Radcliffe Award, named for Sir
Cyril Radcliffe, the head of the British boundary commission on the partition of Punjab
and Bengal in 1947. Although this boundary with India is not formally disputed,
passions still run high on both sides of the border. Many Indians had expected the
original boundary line to run farther to the west, thereby ceding Lahore to India;
Pakistanis had expected the line to run much farther east, possibly granting them
control of Delhi, the imperial capital of the Mughal Empire. The southern borders are far
less contentious than those in the north. The Thar Desert in the province of Sindh is
separated in the south from the salt flats of the Rann of Kutch by a boundary that was
first delineated in 1923-24. After partition, Pakistan contested the southern boundary
of Sindh, and a succession of border incidents resulted. They were less dangerous and
less widespread, however, than the conflict that erupted in Kashmir in the Indo-
Pakistani War of August 1965. These southerrn hostilities were ended by British
mediation, and both sides accepted the award of the Indo-Pakistan Western Boundary
Case Tribunal designated by the UN secretary general. The tribunal made its award on
February 19, 1968, delimiting a line of 403 kilometers that was later demarcated by
joint survey teams. Of its original claim of some 9,100square kilometers, Pakistan was
awarded only about 780 square kilometers. Beyond the western terminus of the
tribunal's award, the final stretch of Pakistan's border with India is about 80 kilometers
long, running west and southwest to an inlet of the Arabian Sea.
Pakistan‟s eastern neighbour India with its huge market and its nuclear capability
is also ambitious of becoming a global power with a permanent seat in the Security
Council. There is also apprehension that the prevailing regional instability may lead to
more violence and terrorism in India as well.
The world is facing terrorism. Pakistan is a front line state against terrorism. The
geo political significance of Pakistan has attracted the attention of major global players.
Pakistan is located at the junction of great powers. Located at the northwestern part of
the Indian subcontinent; Pakistan is a neighbour to the growing China, the nuclear Iran,
„terrorist‟ Afghanistan and the favorable market of India. In its neighbors, one world
power Russia and the other emerging power China lie. Any alliance among world
powers enhances Pakistan‟s significance further. At present, security and business are
two main interests of the USA in the region while Pakistan is playing a front line role
and a major non NATO ally in the war against terrorism. The world is aware of the fact
that war against terrorism could never be won without the help of Pakistan. Iran's
nuclear ambitions and the growing consensus among the Great Powers to curb these
ambitions boost the geostrategic value of Pakistan in the region.
CENTRAL ASIA
Pakistan is at junction of South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia. Pakistan can be a
bridge and gateway for the countries in South Asia, West Asia and Central Asia. It is at
way from resource efficient countries to resource deficient countries in these regions.
Central Asia is at a center stage of new Great Game because of the western quest for
resources like oil and energy. After the disintegration of USSR, new quest has started
which is clearly manifested by politics of oil. Pakistan is also located very close to the oil
rich Middle Eastern countries. The belt started from Iran and extended to Saudi Arabia.
Thus, Pakistan can influence shipment of oil. Iran is struggling to export its surplus gas
and oil to the eastern countries. Qatar, Pakistan and Turkmenistan pipeline projects
highlight the position. In the energy scarce world, Pakistan is located at the hub of
energy rich countries like Iran and Afghanistan: both are energy abundant while India
and China are lacking. China finds way to the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea
through Karakoram highway. The present era is an era of regionalism which focuses on
regional interconnectivity and interdependence of countries located in any region.
Pakistan has great importance in enhancing regional connectivity among various blocks
like ECO, SAARC, SCO etc. and can in a way serve as a gateway and bridge among
regional countries.
Pakistan has the potential to develop as a transit economy on account of its strategic
location. Afghanistan which is a land locked country is passing through the phase of
reconstruction finds its ways through Pakistan. China with its fastest economy growth
rate of 9% us developing southern provinces because its own part is 4500 km away
from Sinkiang but Gwader is 2500 km away. Moreover, Pakistan offers central Asian
regions the shortest route of 2600 km as compared to Iran 4500 km or turkey 5000 km.
Gwader port with its deep waters attracts the trade ships of China, CAR and south east
Asian countries., also the coastal belt of Balochistan can provide outlet to China‟s
western provinces to have access to middles eastern markets with the development of
coastal highways and motorways.
It is important to note that the location of Balochistan, connecting Iranian Plateau with
South East Asia, Central Asia to its long coast line in the shores of the Arabian Sea,
makes it geographically an important place. Balochistan is a mountainous desert area,
consisting of 3.5 lakh sq. kms. It borders Iran, Afghanistan and its Southern Boundary
is the Arabian Sea with strategically important port of Gwadar on the Makran Coast,
commanding approach to the Strait of Hormuz. Its total population is 7.5 million.
Balochistan occupies 43.6 percent of Pakistan‟s total area and is least populated.
Though the poorest, yet it provides gas and coal (consisting of 200 coal mines) to the
industrial infrastructure of the country. Around 60 percent of Pakistan‟s domestic and
industrial requirements are met through the gas obtained from Dera Bugti. Balochistan
contains the twin character as ecologically, it is connected with Central Asia while
politically with South Asia. Strategically, Balochistan is unique in terms of the following
factors which are crucial in its strategic calculations:
• Sensitive borders
Placed extremely next to the oil lanes of the Persian Gulf and covering a common
border with “Iran and Afghanistan”, Balochistan is strategically too significant;
commanding almost the entire coast of the country-470 miles of the “Arabian Sea and
boasting of a deep sea port”, completed with Chinese support at Gwadar (Balochistan).
Pakistan‟s strategic position in the world has been considerably increased ever
since it has achieved nuclear capability, which has made it the only Muslim country
armed with atomic weapons. After acquiring the nuclear capability, the balance of
power in the region is restored.
11. CONCLUSION
Pakistan is very important country in the world with respect to its geographic
location. Its importance is enhanced as a gateway to among countries in the various
regions. Pakistan‟s geo-strategic importance can be best understood in the regional and
global perspective. In geographical terms, it is surrounded by four countries:
Afghanistan, Iran, India and China, each of which is a major player in international
politics. In one way or the other, Pakistan is vital for these countries and this raises its
international stature. Afghanistan which is now the focus of world‟s attention is
generally regarded as the breeding ground of all the international terrorism, militancy
and opium production. The whole world, including the US realizes the fact that no
peace is possible in Afghanistan without the active support and cooperation of Pakistan.
Situated in South Asia, Pakistan is a gateway to Central Asia and its Arabian Sea
provides an easy access to the countries of the Middle East. It lies in the neighbourhood
of China and India which due to their huge markets are supposed to be the economic
giants of future. To sum up, among the innumerable gifts bestowed upon Pakistan by
nature, perhaps one of the most important ones is its ideal and highly strategic
geographical location. If it is prudently used, it can make our country the hub of
international trade and commerce, opening up new doors of progress and prosperity for
its people.