Pakistan’s ‘propaganda diplomacy’ aimed at preserving its declining strategic importance

Islamabad, March 27 (IANS) Despite Islamabad’s attempt to position itself as mediator in the US-Iran conflict, Tehran returned Pakistan’s tanker and blocked its passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran also turned down proposals for talks, including the US ceasefire attempts, by dismissing Trump’s 15-point peace proposal.

According to a report in India Narrative, the pushback of a Pakistani vessel and the Iranian envoy’s blunt rejection of Pakistan’s role in mediation reflect evolving regional dynamics. It argued that Pakistan’s influence and importance in the Gulf remains limited and gradually declining.

The report also stated that the development exposes Pakistan’s propaganda-driven diplomacy, which Islamabad perceives as diplomatic strength but in reality, it is further eroding the country’s remaining influence in the Gulf and portraying it as a propagandist actor.

“Pakistan once again engages in a pointless spectacle that emphasises nuisance over substance. The propaganda-driven diplomacy aimed at preserving its declining strategic importance and handling backlash is nothing new. The current instance of Pakistan’s involvement in the Gulf, aimed at securing a major diplomatic event for itself, hardly holds strategic significance. Its diplomatic tactics lack the value and depth needed to establish itself as a key mediator in high-stakes conflicts,” the report detailed.

“Pakistan’s diplomacy in the Gulf relies on two strategies: first, symbolic outreach, and second, ideological appeal. Both traditional factors have been waning for decades; the main reason is the lack of strategic reliability and relevance, which are crucial for diplomacy to have persuasive value. The major example of a persuasive diplomatic actor in the region is Qatar, which has strategically built its diplomatic tactics and policies on reliability and relevance rather than on purely ideological appeal,” it added.

Qatar’s strategic reliability, the report said, is rooted in its image as an “honest broker” that maintains open communication channels with a wide range of adversarial actors, including the United States, Iran, the Taliban, and Hamas.

By contrast, Pakistan’s “propaganda diplomacy” largely depends on ideology, communication, and media rather than on “strategic, niche, and persuasive diplomacy” grounded in relevance and credibility.

“This approach ultimately diminishes its legitimacy as a mediator, unlike Qatar’s case. In Pakistan’s situation, relevance, credibility, and especially a strategic niche are missing. The only factor supporting Pakistan’s influence is ideology, which does not make it an effective or persuasive diplomatic actor. The longstanding tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran, simmering for years, were escalated by a new mediator: Pakistan,” the report mentioned.

“Former Prime Minister Imran Khan repeatedly offered to mediate between the two regional rivals, but Saudi Arabia outrightly refused. The real breakthrough came in 2023 when China brokered an agreement, with Pakistan largely sidelined. The well-known Afghan peace process, where Pakistan claimed to be the primary mediator between the US and the Taliban, also failed as its ties with the TTP and the Afghan Taliban gradually worsened,” it noted.

–IANS

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