{"id":2102,"date":"2013-04-20T12:37:13","date_gmt":"2013-04-20T09:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/?p=2102"},"modified":"2022-10-02T20:16:40","modified_gmt":"2022-10-02T17:16:40","slug":"dr-rasheeds-participation-at-the-roundtable-discussion-exploring-iran-and-saudi-arabias-interests-in-afghanistan-and-pakistan-stakeholders-or-spoilers-a-zero-sum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/dr-rasheeds-participation-at-the-roundtable-discussion-exploring-iran-and-saudi-arabias-interests-in-afghanistan-and-pakistan-stakeholders-or-spoilers-a-zero-sum\/","title":{"rendered":"Sources of Tension in Afghanistan &#038; Pakistan: A Regional Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;\">Sources of Tension in Afghanistan &amp; Pakistan: A Regional Perspective<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><strong>Round table&nbsp;seminar on \u2018Exploring Iran and Saudi Arabia\u2019s interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Stakeholders or Spoilers \u2013 A Zero Sum Game?\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><b>Background to the event<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><b>&nbsp;<\/b>Dr Turki Faisal Al Rasheed was recently invited to participate in a round table discussion on \u2018<strong>Exploring Iran and Saudi Arabia\u2019s interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan: Stakeholders or Spoilers \u2013 A Zero Sum Game?\u2019<\/strong> The event was co-hosted by <strong>the Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB) and Qatar University<\/strong> and was held in the University\u2019s New Library in Doha. A number of influential and knowledgeable professionals were in attendance, whose expertise covered a range of relevant areas from international relations and conflict resolution to economics and politics.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-2102 gallery-columns-1 gallery-size-thumbnail'><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-content\/uploads\/P4162545-500x248-1-100x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-content\/uploads\/P4162561-500x288-1-100x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-content\/uploads\/P4162551-500x242-1-100x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-content\/uploads\/P4162548-500x295-1-100x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure><figure class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<div class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-content\/uploads\/P4162547-500x265-1-100x100.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/div><\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">The aim of the CIDOB policy research project \u2018Sources of Tension in Afghanistan and Pakistan: A Regional Perspective\u2019 is to explore the main sources of tension in the two regions, together with other countries\u2019 roles in relation to these tensions. The purpose of the roundtable event was to explore the issues and challenges facing Iran and Saudi Arabia in relation to the stability of Afghanistan and Pakistan, especially once troops are withdrawn from the former in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><b>Dr Rasheed\u2019s remarks<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><b style=\"line-height: 19px;\">Preface<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><em>Dr Rasheed stated that he came to the table with a \u2018farmer\u2019s\u2019 perspective \u2013 although his experience in the political and economic arenas must also be acknowledged. He prefaced his comments with a metaphor relating to sowing, growing and harvesting a good crop and asked how that applied to Afghanistan and Pakistan. He posed another question: \u201cAre we still operating under the beliefs of John Foster Dulles?\u201d \u2013 referring to the usefulness of Pakistan\u2019s army to USA strategic interests.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><b>Main body of remarks<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><b>&nbsp;<\/b>Dr Rasheed made two main points:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">Internationally: most stakeholders\u2019 involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan is to use the two countries for their own purposes, which is not necessarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan\u2019s best interests;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">Locally: in the Middle East, all political movement is seen as rivalry.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">He elaborated on the first point by charting the long-term distrust and disenchantment between Pakistan and the USA, and Pakistan\u2019s more recent reaching-out to Iran and China, in defiance of the USA\u2019s wishes. He concluded this point by musing whether, if the USA\/Pakistan alliance ended, Pakistan might be able to discover whether its regional policy objective of competing with India was attainable without USA support, and wondering if the USA and Pakistan should admit that, in its current incarnation, their relationship was over, and move on to develop a new one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">Dr Rasheed went on to outline the USA\u2019s recent decline, both strategically and financially. He highlighted their foreign policy tactics against Russia, Afghanistan, and Islamic extremism, and then quoted statistical data showing the recent decline in the USA\u2019s economy, indicating that they would not be able to maintain their position in the region because of their financial and economic problems.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; line-height: 19px; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">With regard to the second point, <strong>Dr Rasheed turned his attention to Saudi Arabia and Iran, summarising the political, economic, military, and social advantages and disadvantages of each vis-\u00e0-vis the other. He noted that the two countries have strong extra-regional and intra-regional allies.<\/strong> Iran\u2019s other advantages are its advanced military capabilities and its close relations with various sectarian social and political movements in the region; its main disadvantage is its limited economic capabilities. Saudi Arabia also gains legitimacy from its presence on the international stage, and its vast financial resources and global religious social network. However, Saudi Arabia\u2019s extra-regional ally is also the cause of its main disadvantage: the country\u2019s close relationship with the USA leads to questions regarding its political actions; and Dr Rasheed <strong>stressed that Saudi Arabia must be careful not to be led into any conflict with Iran.<\/strong> He ended by stating that security and stability in the region can only be ensured by the adoption of social, economic and political reforms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><b>Recommendations<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">At the end of his remarks, Dr Rasheed made the <strong>following recommendations<\/strong> with regard to the necessary approach to take in the region:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;\">1-&nbsp;All stakeholders, especially the western countries, should end their thoughts of colonialism and stop acting in unethical ways in the region. Further, they should not adopt policies of keeping the Gulf countries and Arab world weak and insecure to maintain the USA\u2019s dominance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;\">2-&nbsp;Concentrate on sustainable development: world leaders, individuals, government and private organisations and NGOs should get together to try to meet the goal of world-wide sustainable development in a manner similar to the UN\u2019s Millennium Development Goals programme, which has mobilised governments and business leaders to donate billions of dollars, cutting in half the amount of extreme poverty worldwide in just a few years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;\">3-&nbsp;Focus on new challenges:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"display: inline !important;\">&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"display: inline !important;\">\n<ol style=\"display: inline !important;\">\n<li style=\"display: inline !important;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">a. The pressure of a worsening environment, which is affecting the livelihoods of<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"display: inline !important;\">&nbsp;<\/li>\n<li style=\"display: inline !important;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">&nbsp; &nbsp;hundreds of millions of people;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"display: inline !important;\">\n<ol style=\"display: inline !important;\">\n<li style=\"display: inline !important;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><span id=\"__mceDel\">b.&nbsp;<\/span><em style=\"font-style: italic;\">The growing number of middle-income countries with tremendous internal poverty;<\/em><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 14pt;\"><em id=\"__mceDel\">c. &nbsp;The rapid spread of non-communicable diseases.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><em><strong>For further information relating to this seminar<\/strong>, see <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"><em>http:\/\/www.cidob.org\/es\/temas_regiones\/asia\/sources_of_tension_in_afghanistan_paki<\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"> <em>stan_regional_perspectives. For information about the work of the CIDOB in general, please refer to their website at www.cidob.org\/en. <\/em><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-size: 14pt; font-family: 'times new roman', times, serif;\"> <em>Dr Rasheed\u2019s website is at www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/. &nbsp;<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sources of Tension in Afghanistan &amp; Pakistan: A Regional Perspective &nbsp; Round table&nbsp;seminar on \u2018Exploring Iran and Saudi Arabia\u2019s interests in Afghanistan and Pakistan: [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":2107,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2102"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7090,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2102\/revisions\/7090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2107"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tfrasheed.org\/e\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}