Many a times during the discussions on Pakistan’s development, the role of Arabs comes up.
There is a tendency to perceive Pak-Arab relations in a single dimension. That surely leads to incorrect conclusions.
The reality is that Arabs themselves are divided and thus interact with Pakistan differently.
When it comes to International relations, Arabs can be divided in two main groups.
- Pro-West (ex-pro-Brit, now pro-USA)
- Anti-West (Islamists, Ex-Communist, Ex-Socialists, Baathists-mostly, and now Anti-USA)
------- note: Some Arabs like Egypt used to be pro-Communists but now they are pro-USA - Small minority who is un-affiliated to either of the group.
To make the things further complicated, there are Arab countries where the government is pro-USA but the masses are anti-USA.
Since this is a thread about Pakistan, so let’s stop here and see how these Arab groups interact with Pakistan.
We already know that Pakistanis too are divided among pro-West and anti-West groups.
In fact the current Pak government (and the one before that) has been pro-USA, while a large number of Pakistanis are anti-USA.
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Pakistan’s development - Role of pro-West Arabs vs. Islamists Arabs
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In summary, the pro-West arabs help the pro-west Pakistanis
And Islamists + anti-West Arabs support Islamists activities in Pakistan.
Therefore when it comes to the development projects of Pakistan,
Pro-West Arabs like UAE leadership helps out by buidling public projects.
While
the Islamists are supporting mosques and madrassahs that in turn commit horrendous crimes like suicide bombing, and destruction of girls shcools and bridges.
Hopefully this thread will put to rest the confusion on Arabs are good vs. bad for Pakistan.