| This thesis aims to explore the relationship between Pakistan and Turkey during the post 9/11 decades as the both states has become closest partners during these decades.In order to answer the question,why the paradigm shift occurred in Pak-Turkey relations during the post 9/11 decades? This thesis argues that the paradigm shift occurred between two states mainly due to security and strategic interests.The terrorist attacks jolted the entire world,which consequences led to a somewhat “paradigm shift” in every state,where Islamabad and Ankara were no exception.The relationship between the two countries is not new,because historically,both countries have developed relations,which can be traced back to the period of British India before Pakistan's independence,but its self-determination movement is underway.The Indian Muslims esteemed the Ottoman Empire as the emblem for Muslim unity and as a source of religious inspiration.They supported the Ottoman Empire morally and politically,for instance,the Indian Muslims collected funds and provided medicines to treat the Turkish people who were affected during WW1.Besides,the founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah warned the British government to stop the interference against the Ottoman Empire,if not then the consequences will be pessimistic.When the British government did not agree then they commenced the Khilafat movement to protect the Ottoman Empire.However,in 1924,this movement ended with the elimination of the Caliphate.In 1947,Pakistan became an independent sovereign state in the world where Turkey recognized it and nominated the Yahya Kemal as a first ambassador to Islamabad soon after independence.As it is recorded,that he was a former imperials official of the Ottoman court,this episode indicated that Turkey paid sufficient attention to the bilateral relations with Pakistan from the very beginning.Jinnah appreciated his performance and hoped that both states would cooperate for a long time in the future.His hope came true when Turkey helped Pakistan in the printing process of its currency in the initial month of independence.Their relations further strengthened due to a Treaty of Friendship in 1954.Moreover,they joined the Baghdad Pact,which was later dubbed CENTO.However,this organization did not fulfill both states' national interests,and needed another political organization outside of CENTO.In this context,the Regional Cooperation Development(RCD)came into existence in 1964.Also,throughout the cold and post-cold war era,they supported each other morally and politically over Kashmir and Cyprus issues.During the post-cold war era,they upheld their relations and became the leading members of the Economic Cooperation Organization(ECO)and developing-8(D-8).Another Turning point started in their relations with the aftermath of 9/11 as it jolted the whole world and brought somehow a paradigm shift in every country where Islamabad and Ankara were no exception.Both states were concerned with their strategic and security interests.After the 9/11 attack,significant changes occurred in both states policies.From the perspective of Pakistan,the foreign policy towards Turkey began to change substantially due to security and strategic concerns.These concerns were very reasonable,as there have been disputes between Islamabad and Kabul in some areas of the border since Pakistan's independence in 1947.Afghanistan was the first neighbor Muslim state,who cost vote in disfavor and did not recognize its sovereignty.It was having concerns over the northwestern part of Pakistan situated along the “Durand Line” border currently calling Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa,and due to this,another issue has taken birth such as non-recognition of the “Durand Line” border.Besides,these bilateral territorial disputes,Pakistan has always needed a strategic depth in Afghanistan due to fear of territorial encirclement by India through Kabul.The situation further became sensitive after the entrance of India into Afghanistan soon with the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.Formerly,Pakistan has enjoyed the strategic depth by supporting the Taliban government in Afghanistan,however,it has lost the influence due to the 9/11 horrific attacks.The major shift occurred in world politics every state endeavored to make an anti-terrorism coalition in order to protect their security and strategic interests.The United States urged the world that,you are either with us or with terrorists,which shacked the entire world and brought a somewhat a paradigm shift in every state,where Pakistan was no exception.Islamabad needed the support of Ankara to resolve the bilateral issues with Kabul,which consequently will lead to accomplishing the national interests.In this context,Turkey for the first time has launched Pakistan-Afghanistan-Turkey Trilateral Summits to resolve their issues.During the same period,Turkish foreign policy toward Pakistan has begun to change after Al-Qaida posed a serious threat to its national security.Al-Qaeda did so because of the presence of Turkish forces in the International Security Assistance Force(ISAF),which are fighting in Afghanistan against terrorists.In this context,Turkey was in the reach of terrorism since 9/11,where Al Qaeda launched surprise attacks on it for the first time in 2003.The bombers attacked the synagogue,the British consulate,HSBC in Istanbul and it has taken the life of 62 people,and 650 were injured.To protect its citizens in the future,it needed intelligence cooperation with Islamabad,as it is clear that no state's intelligence institutions have the resources or skills to defy all threats to their state's security and public protection on their own.In this mindset,Ankara signed a treaty of “Fight Against International Terrorism and Organized Crime”(FAITOR)with Islamabad in 2004.For Ankara,intelligence cooperation with Islamabad was important due to three reasons.First,geographically Pakistan is bordered with Afghanistan where the Taliban hosted the Al-Qaeda.Second,Pakistan Inter Intelligence Service(ISI)was relations with Afghan Taliban from 1996 to 2001.Third,linguistically some part of Pakistan and the Taliban has the same language that is calling Pashto.Another significant shift occurred in Turkey's foreign policy toward Pakistan due to the needs of defense autarky,which later became a source of the strategic partnership between both states.The defense autarky is the self-sufficiency of arms production domestically,as every developing country is struggling for power,wealth,and status.They want access to use to high-technology weapon systems without the punishment of suppliers where Turkey has no exception.The struggle of Ankara to achieve the defense autarky had started in 1974,due to arms embargo and it was worryingly affected its defense capabilities.It affected the abilities of the Turkish Armed force especially the Air Force,which was directly dependent on US-supplied equipment.It created alertness of the requirement to become self-sufficient in arms production.Ankara perceived that Islamabad is the potential and the largest market for its defense industry weapons,where it needed long-term partnership with Islamabad.In this context,both states signed “strategic partnership” in 2016.Turkey is currently the second-largest weapons exporter to Pakistan.Ankara has recently been upgrading different warships of Pakistan's Navy and as well as exporting new domestically manufactured weapons.Some famous of them are an Altay tank,Submarine Fleets,MILGEM ADA,and different fighter jet aircraft.The Altay tank is the third generation+ main battle tank(MBT),which has manufactured under the Altay National Tank Project.Between Pakistan and Turkey,another standout deal was signed where the “Turkish firm STM Savunma Teknolojileri Muhendislik ve Ticaret” will upgrade three Agosta Khalid-class submarines of Pakistan Navy.The total cost of three Agosta 90 B air-independent propulsion(AIP)submarines was US$350 million.Another imperative deal between them worth of $1.5 billion was signed for 30 T129 ATAK gunships helicopter in 2018.This project is playing a very vital role in the Turkish defense industry for the accomplishment of its desire for defense autarky. |
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