Islamabad:
Pakistan finally announced a major shift in his foreign policy to Syria when Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday welcomed the new temporary President Ahmed Al-Sharaa.
This was the first formal reaction and recognition of changes in Syria by Pakistan and came only a few days after the leader of the opposition group Ahmed al-Sharaa became temporary president of the war-hired country.
“We offer Mr Ahmed al-Sharaa’s assumption of office as president of the Syrian Arab Republic during the transition phase and hope that the new leadership will be able to bring peace, progress and prosperity to the brotherly people of Syria,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on Xi, formerly Twitter. Ahmed al-Sharaa became the Syrian president on Wednesday after the country’s constitution in 2012, parliament and the army and all other institutions were dissolved. He would continue to rule the country until the new constitution is agreed.
Many Arab countries were quick to welcome him when Qatar’s Amir visited a surprising visit to Damascus on Saturday and became the first Arab leader to travel to Syria after the Assad regime fell in December.
It is believed that Pakistan decided to finally abandon the decades old politics after many of his Arab friends and Turkey, one of the most important backers of the new setup, supported Al-Sharaa.
During the Syrian civil war, Pakistan had pursued a carefully balanced policy. Although outward maintained neutrality, a closer examination of its policy indicates that Islamabad supported the Assad regime.
The long -standing ties between Pakistan and Syria have deep roots. Pakistani pilots once flew Syrian fighter jets during the Arab Israeli War in 1967.
The two countries also share a history of military exchanges in which many Pakistani officers trained from Syrian military academies and later have senior positions in Pakistan.
The historical bond explains why Pakistan refrained from sitting with power trying to overthrow Assad during the Arab spring emergence of 2011. The sudden collapse of the Assad regime comes as a shock, not only for the global community, but also for Pakistan.
Previously, FO, while supporting the territorial integrity and sovereignty in Syria, did not explicitly the opposition led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
HTS was once known as Nusrat Front, a group affiliated with al-Qaeda. But its leader Ahmed al-Sharaa distanced himself from al-Qaeda in 2015, and since the fall of Syria portrayed himself as moderate and adapted to the West.
He is now often dressed in Western attire, often wearing a tie and suit. In an interview with the BBC, the new Syrian leader rejected reports that Syria would repeat the Taliban management model. The temporary president said Syria and Afghanistan had no comparison. Afghanistan is a tribal community, while Syria has its own culture and history, he added.
The Syrian leader also said there would be no ban on girls’ education, while all sects and minorities would have full freedom.
