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Gulf States and the Conflict between India and Pakistan
much in the interest of the Gulf region. A consolidated GCC
would provide the core around which there would be a
second group of friendly nations that derive significant
benefits from their interaction with this core. Pakistan as a
trusted friendly neighbour and virtual extension of the GCC
coastal belt with Gwadar fitting into a chain of fraternal
ports, and India, an emerging military and economic power,
can contribute significantly to a new balance of power. If an
effective mechanism for their association with GCC is
created, India and Pakistan may find it to be a factor in their
present movement towards a broad South Asian entente. It
has been internationally noted that Gulf Arabs would be
favourably disposed to this rapprochement and that the
economics of energy is one of the principal sources of
strength for sustaining it. In this analysis, Pakistan's special
ties with the Muslim world become an incentive for good
relations with India. 1
1 Tanvir Ahmad Khan, "Gulf-Pakistan Relations: A Political Perspective",
in Faryal Leghari (ed.) Gulf-Pakistan Strategic Relations (Dubai, Gulf
Research Center, 2008): 23-50
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