Editing West Pakistan (section)

==Foreign relations==
{{Main|Foreign policy of Pakistan}}

===Afghanistan===
{{Main|Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes}}
The long border between West Pakistan and Afghanistan was uneasy. This is due in part to the independent [[Pashtun tribes]] that inhabit the area. In addition, the physical boundary is uncertain: the 1893 [[Durand Line]] was used by West Pakistan to mark the border between the two countries, but Afghanistan has never recognised that frontier.<ref name="FG">{{cite web |url=http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/cp72_grare_final.pdf |title=Carnegie Papers – Pakistan-Afghanistan Relations in the Post-9/11 Era |first=Frédéric |last=Grare |date = October 2006|access-date=2011-02-11}}</ref>

In 1955, diplomatic relations were severed with the ransacking of Pakistan's embassy. In 1961, the [[Pakistan Armed Forces]] and local Pashtun tribes [[Bajaur Campaign|suppressed an Afghan invasion]] in the [[Bajaur Agency|Bajaur]] region of Pakistan.

===India===
{{Further|India–Pakistan relations|Indo-Pakistani War of 1947|Indo-Pakistani War of 1965}}
West Pakistan had hostile relations with India, primarily due to aftermath of the 1947 [[Partition of India|independence]] from the British Empire and the [[Kashmir conflict|issue of Kashmir.]]

In 1965, "[[Operation Gibraltar]]" had long-ranging negative effects, outside and inside the country. Foreign minister [[Zulfikar Ali Bhutto]] and [[Defence Minister of Pakistan|Defence minister]] [[Vice-Admiral]] [[Afzal Rahman Khan]] approached President Ayub Khan for approval of a covert operation to infiltrate Indian-administered [[Kashmir]] using airborne troops from the [[Pakistan Army]] ([[Special Service Group]]) and [[Pakistan Air Force]] ([[Special Service Wing]]). During nights in August 1965, airborne troops parachuted into Indian Kashmir whilst ground assault began by Pakistan Army's troops. The airborne troops managed to occupy much of Indian-administered Kashmir and were only {{convert|10|km|0}} from [[Srinagar]], but this was the closest Pakistani troops ever got to capturing the city. In September 1965, India launched a counter-attack and the airborne troops were pushed back to what is today [[Azad Kashmir]]. Indian forces also crossed the ceasefire line into Azad Kashmir and  captured the Haji Pir pass. 

Subsequently, Pakistan launched [[Operation Grand Slam]], which gained significant momentum. Grand Slam was aborted after India launched an all out attack on West Pakistan, for which Pakistani troops had to be diverted. The [[Soviet Union]] intervened in the conflict in September 1965 (for fear of escalation), and the month–long war ended with no permanent territorial changes. West Pakistan and India signed the [[Tashkent Declaration]] in January 1966, but the ceasefire was criticised both in India and Pakistan, and public resentment against each other grew. In West Pakistan, Ayub Khan deposed Bhutto as his Foreign minister, and Vice-Admiral Khan blamed Bhutto for the operation's failure. As an aftermath, Bhutto tapped into an anti-Ayub Khan movement and kicked off a storm of civil disobedience. Protests and spontaneous demonstrations broke out around the country, and Ayub Khan lost the control. In 1967, another martial law was imposed by another Army Commander-in-Chief, General Yahya Khan, who designated himself as the Chief Martial Law Administrator.

===People's Republic of China===
{{Main|People's Republic of China–Pakistan relations}}
West Pakistan had positive relations with the People's Republic of China, with whom it shared a small northern border.

In 1950, Pakistan was among the first countries to end official diplomatic relations with the Taiwanese [[Republic of China]] and recognise the [[People's Republic of China|PRC]]. After that, both countries maintained an extremely close and supportive relationship.<ref name="bbcnews">{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13418957|title= Pakistani PM hails China as his country's 'best friend'|publisher=BBC News|access-date=17 May 2011|date=17 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/world/asia/13pstan.html|title= Pakistan President to Visit China, a Valued Ally|work=The New York Times|access-date=12 October 2008|first=Salman|last=Masood|date=13 October 2008}}</ref> The PRC provided economic, military and technical assistance to Pakistan during the [[Cold War]], and the two countries considered each other to be close strategic [[Alliance|allies]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/7384378.html|title=China, Pakistan joined in bonds of brotherhood|access-date=18 May 2011|work=People's Daily}}</ref>

===Soviet Union===
{{Main|Pakistan-Soviet Union relations}}
Relations varied from cool to extremely strained between West Pakistan and the Soviet Union. This was during the [[Cold War]], and Pakistan's close ties with the United States came at the expense of relations with the Soviets.

Soviet-Pakistan relations were further eroded during the [[1960 U-2 incident]], when the Soviets shot down a US spyplane; [[Army Chief of Staff (Pakistan)|Army Chief-of-Staff]] [[Ayub Khan (Field Marshal)|Ayub Khan]] had given the US permission to fly out of [[Peshawar Air Station]] on reconnaissance and covert surveillance missions over the Soviet Union.

The USSR backed India during the [[Indo-Pakistani War of 1971]]. The Soviets were the biggest supplier of military hardware to India at that time.<ref>{{cite book|last=Sharma|first=Ram|title=India-USSR relations|year=1999|publisher=Discovery Publishing House|location=United States|isbn=81-7141-486-9}}</ref>

===United States===
{{Main|Pakistan-United States relations}}
The United States was one of the first nations to establish relations with Pakistan upon its independence.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-01-02 |title='Tempestuous' Defines US-Pakistan Alliance |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/timeline-of-pakistan-and-us-relations/4190104.html |access-date=2024-05-29 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref>

Pakistan was allied with the US during the [[Cold War]] against the [[Soviet Union|USSR]]. Pakistan was an integral member of the [[Southeast Asia Treaty Organization]] (SEATO) and the [[Central Treaty Organization]] (CENTO), both alliances opposed to the [[Soviet Union]] and [[communism]].

A major factor in Pakistan's decision to ally with the [[Western world|West]] was their urgent need for aid.<ref name="Dawn Newspaper, Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (1950)">{{cite news|last=Ardeshir Cowasjee|title=A recap of Soviet-Pakistan relations|url=http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/13/a-recap-of-soviet-pakistan-relations.html|access-date=26 February 2012|newspaper=Dawn Newspaper, Pakistan Institute of International Affairs (1950)|date=13 March 2011}}</ref> In the years that followed, the US supplied extensive economic, scientific, and military assistance to Pakistan.<ref name="LA">{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-pakistan-20110507,0,2721411.story?track=rss|title=U.S.-Pakistan relations: An unhappy alliance|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=7 May 2011 }}</ref>

This close relationship continued through Pakistan's years of democracy and military rule. Relations only soured after West Pakistan had dissolved into Pakistan, when the [[Left-wing politics|left-oriented]] [[Pakistan Peoples Party]] came to power in 1971.