Editing Foreign relations of Pakistan (section)

=== Muslim world ===
{{Main|Pakistan and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation|Pakistan–Turkey relations|Pakistan–Saudi Arabia relations|Pakistan–Iran relations|Afghanistan–Pakistan relations}}

After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjJuAAAAMAAJ&q=islamistan|title=Islam in Pakistan's foreign policy|last=Pasha|first=Sayed Abdul Muneem|publisher=Global Media Publications|year=2005|isbn=9788188869152|page=225|quote=Pakistan's expression of solidarity was followed, after Independence, by a vigorous pursuit of bilateral relations with Muslim countries like Iran and Turkey.}}</ref> and made a wholehearted bid for leadership of the [[Muslim world]], or at least for leadership in achieving its unity.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjJuAAAAMAAJ&q=islamistan|title=Islam in Pakistan's foreign policy|last=Pasha|first=Sayed Abdul Muneem|publisher=Global Media Publications|year=2005|isbn=9788188869152|page=37|quote=Pakistan was making a wholehearted bid for the leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for the leadership in achieving its unity.}}</ref> The [[Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar|Ali]] brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in large part due to its large manpower and military strength.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjJuAAAAMAAJ&q=islamistan|title=Islam in Pakistan's foreign policy|last=Pasha|first=Sayed Abdul Muneem|publisher=Global Media Publications|year=2005|isbn=9788188869152|page=226|quote=Following Khaliquzzaman, the Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan, with its comparatively larger manpower and military strength, as the natural leader of the Islamic world.}}</ref> A top-ranking [[All India Muslim League|Muslim League]] leader, [[Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman|Khaliquzzaman]], declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into [[Islamistan]] – a pan-Islamic entity.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Z6TBQAAQBAJ&q=islamistan+hussain+haqqani&pg=PA18|title=Creating a New Medina|last=Dhulipala|first=Venkat|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2015|isbn=9781107052123|page=18|quote=As a top ranking ML leader Khaliquzzaman declared, 'Pakistan would bring all Muslim countries together into Islamistan – a pan-Islamic entity'.}}</ref> Such developments (alongside Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval and British Prime Minister [[Clement Attlee]] voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VNAiBQAAQBAJ&q=islamistan+hussain+haqqani&pg=PA20|title=Magnificent Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding|last=Haqqani|first=Husain|publisher=PublicAffairs|year=2013|isbn=9781610393171|pages=20–21|quote=Within a few years the president of the Muslim League, Chaudhry Khaliq-uz-Zaman, announced that Pakistan would bring all Muslim countries together into Islamistan – a pan-Islamic entity. None of these developments within the new country elicited approval among Americans for the idea of India's partition ... British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced the international consensus at the time when he told the House of Commons of his hope that ''this severance may not endure.'' He hoped that the proposed dominions of India and Pakistan would ''in course of time, come together to form one great Member State of the British Commonwealth of Nations.''}}</ref> Since most of the [[Arab world]] was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TyIVAgAAQBAJ&q=During+this+time+most+of+the+Arab+world+was+going+through+a+nationalist+awakening.+Pan-Islamic+dreams+involving+the+unification+of+Muslim+countries%2C+possibly+under+Pakistani+leadership%2C+had+little+attraction.&pg=PA22|title=Magnificent Delusions: Pakistan, the United States, and an Epic History of Misunderstanding|last=Haqqani|first=Husain|publisher=PublicAffairs|year=2013|isbn=9781610393171|pages=22|quote=During this time most of the Arab world was going through a nationalist awakening. Pan-Islamic dreams involving the unification of Muslim countries, possibly under Pakistani leadership, had little attraction.}}</ref> Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Pj8DIT_bva0C&q=muslim+countries+refused+islamistan&pg=PA134|title=The Origins of Conflict in Afghanistan|last=Roberts|first=Jeffery J.|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=2003|isbn=9780275978785|pages=134|quote=The following year, Choudhry Khaliquzzaman toured the Middle East, pleading for the formation of an alliance or confederation of Muslim states. The Arab states, often citing Pakistan's inability to solve its problems with Muslim neighbor Afghanistan, showed little enthusiasm...Some saw the effort to form 'Islamistan' as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.}}</ref>

Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of [[Indonesia]], [[Libya]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], [[Egypt]], [[Morocco]], [[Somalia]], [[Azerbaijan]], and [[Eritrea]] were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HPWrAgAAQBAJ&q=In+1949+Pakistan+held+an+International+Islamic+Conference&pg=PT178|title=Explaining Pakistan's Foreign Policy: Escaping India|last=Pande|first=Aparna|publisher=Routledge|year=2011|isbn=9781136818936|quote=The belief that the creation of Pakistan made Pakistan the true leader of Muslim causes around the world led Pakistan's diplomats to vigorously champion the cause of self-determination for fellow Muslims at the United Nations. Pakistan's founders, including Jinnah, supported anti-colonial movements: ''Our heart and soul go out in sympathy with those who are struggling for their freedom...If subjugation and exploitation are carried on, there will be no peace and there will be no end to wars.'' Pakistani efforts on behalf of Indonesia (1948), Algeria (1948–1949), Tunisia (1948–1949), Morocco (1948–1956) and Eritrea (1960–1991) were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan.}}</ref> However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of [[Jalalabad]] during the [[Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)|Afghan Civil War]] to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an '[[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]]' which would transcend national borders covering Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2015/08/legacy-pakistan-loved-loathed-hamid-gul-150817114006616.html|title=The legacy of Pakistan's loved and loathed Hamid Gul|last=Nasir|first=Abbas|date=18 August 2015|work=Al-Jazeera|quote=His commitment to jihad – to an Islamic revolution transcending national boundaries, was such that he dreamed one day the "green Islamic flag" would flutter not just over Pakistan and Afghanistan, but also over territories represented by the (former Soviet Union) Central Asian republics. After the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, as the director-general of the Pakistan's intelligence organisation, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate, an impatient Gul wanted to establish a government of the so-called Mujahideen on Afghan soil.|access-date=4 January 2017}}</ref>

On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with [[Iran]] have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wLtA_J3VUt4C&q=iran+pakistan+relations+shia&pg=PA144|title=Iran's Foreign Policy in the Post-Soviet Era: Resisting the New International Order|last=Hunter|first=Shireen|publisher=ABC-CLIO|year=2010|isbn=9780313381942|pages=144|quote=Since then, Pakistan's sectarian tensions have been a major irritant in Iranian-Pakistan relations.}}</ref> Iran and [[Saudi Arabia]] used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war and by the 1990s, Pakistan's support for the Sunni [[Taliban]] organization in Afghanistan became a problem for [[Shia]]-led Iran which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ceg-kSmft94C&q=iran+pakistan+relations+shia&pg=PA159|title=Explaining Pakistan's Foreign Policy: Escaping India|last=Pande|first=Aparna|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=2011|isbn=9781136818943|pages=159|quote=Both Saudi Arabia and Iran used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy war for the 'hearts and minds' of Pakistani Sunnis and Shias with the resultant rise in sectarian tensions in Pakistan. The rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan in the 1990s further strained Pakistan-Iran relations. Pakistan's support of the Sunni Pashtun organization created problems for Shia Iran for whom a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan was a nightmare.}}</ref> Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998, when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes as Pakistani warplanes bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1998/09/14/iran-raises-anti-pakistan-outcry/|title=Iran Raises Anti-pakistan Outcry|last=Schmetzer|first=Uli|date=14 September 1998|work=Chicago Tribune|quote=Karachi, Pakistan–Iran, which has amassed 200,000 troops on the border with Afghanistan, accused Pakistan on Sunday of sending warplanes to strafe and bombard Afghanistan's last Shiite stronghold, which fell hours earlier to the Taliban, the Sunni militia now controlling the central Asian country.|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1998/09/16/afghanistan-arena-for-a-new-rivalry/eeedba2f-03b7-4ed6-ba97-91e51e633e96/|title=Afghanistan: Arena For a New Rivalry |last=Constable |first=Pamela |author-link=Pamela Constable |date=16 September 1998|newspaper=The Washington Post|quote=Taliban officials accused Iran of providing military support to the opposition forces; Tehran radio accused Pakistan of sending its air force to bomb the city in support of the Taliban's advance and said Iran was holding Pakistan responsible for what it termed war crimes at Bamiyan. Pakistan has denied that accusation and previous allegations of direct involvement in the Afghan conflict. Also fueling the volatile situation are ethnic and religious rivalries between the Taliban, who are Sunni Muslims of Afghanistan's dominant Pashtun ethnic group, and the opposition factions, many of which represent other ethnic groups or include Shiite Muslims. Iran, a Shiite Muslim state, has a strong interest in promoting that sect; Pakistan, one of the Taliban's few international allies, is about 80 percent Sunni.|access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref> Although Iran later established ties with the reestablished Taliban government in Afghanistan,<ref name=T/> the [[insurgency in Balochistan]] has increased friction in relations between Iran and Pakistan.<ref>{{cite web |title=Experts react: What's really going on with Pakistan and Iran exchanging attacks? |date=18 January 2024 |url=https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/experts-react-whats-really-going-on-with-pakistan-and-iran-exchanging-attacks/ |publisher=Atlantic Council |access-date=18 January 2024}}</ref> In the 1960s, the problems over the [[Durand Line]] escalated with [[Afghanistan]] which led to open hostilities in the 1970s. After the Taliban took power in 2021, [[Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes|border clashes]] between Pakistan and Afghanistan have increased sharply.<ref name=T>{{Cite web |last=Umair |first=Jamal |date=28 September 2021 |title=Iran and Pakistan: Bilateral Bonding Over the Taliban |url=https://thediplomat.com/2021/09/bilateral-bonding-over-the-taliban/ |website=The Diplomat |access-date=1 May 2023 |archive-date=1 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230501063229/https://thediplomat.com/2021/09/bilateral-bonding-over-the-taliban/ |url-status=live }}</ref>