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Welcome to\u00a0Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s South Asia Brief.<\/p>\n The highlights this week: Pakistan deploys troops<\/strong> to Saudi Arabia per their mutual defense pact, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi<\/strong> visits the United Arab Emirates amid growing ties, and Nepal\u2019s new government<\/strong> opens an investigation into a short-lived minister.<\/p>\n On Monday, Reuters reported that Pakistan had deployed<\/a> 8,000 troops, a squadron of fighter jets, and an air defense system to Saudi Arabia as part of the mutual defense pact reached<\/a> between the two countries last year. Part of this deployment was reported<\/a> last month following a statement<\/a> from the Saudi Defense Ministry, though with fewer specifics.<\/p>\n The development amplifies Pakistan\u2019s diplomatic balancing act<\/a> in the Middle East as it aims to play a prominent mediation role in the Iran war. To succeed, Islamabad must maintain Tehran\u2019s trust as a neutral and credible intermediary, even as its ties with Riyadh, a major rival of Iran, grow deeper.<\/p>\n It may seem surprising that Pakistan could find any balance in its relations with Iran and Saudi Arabia. But over nearly a decade, Pakistan has invested effort in projecting itself as a neutral player in the rivalry. A key turning point<\/a> came in 2017, when Qamar Javed Bajwa became the first Pakistani Army chief to visit Iran in two decades.<\/p>\n Imran Khan, who became prime minister the next year, pushed<\/a> for better relations with Tehran, too, going as far as saying<\/a> that Pakistan should \u201cbecome like\u201d Iran. The Iranian-Saudi rapprochement deal gave Pakistan additional diplomatic space to explore deepening its ties with Iran.<\/p>\n Saudi Arabia has remained a critical Pakistani partner, despite some bumps<\/a> in recent years, from its growing ties with India to a spat over Riyadh\u2019s position on Kashmir. Other developments, including last year\u2019s India-Pakistan conflict, give Islamabad added incentives to consolidate its defense alliance with Riyadh.<\/p>\n Still, the decision to send so many troops and arms to Saudi Arabia at such a delicate moment in the Iran war is striking. There are a few likely explanations.<\/p>\n One is Pakistan\u2019s need to signal to Saudi Arabia its commitment to the defense pact. Though Islamabad has condemned Iranian attacks on Saudi territory, it hasn\u2019t threatened to invoke the pact. (In Islamabad\u2019s defense, Saudi responses to Taliban attacks on Pakistani forces on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in recent months have also been muted.)<\/p>\n Pakistan also needs to ensure continued economic assistance from Saudi Arabia\u2014especially since Pakistani ties with the United Arab Emirates<\/a> have taken a dive in recent months. Just a few days after news emerged about the Pakistani military deployments to Saudi Arabia last month, Islamabad announced<\/a> a fresh $3 billion in assistance from Riyadh.<\/p>\n Pakistani officials have described the deployment to Saudi Arabia as a form of deterrence and emphasized<\/a> that its military assets are \u201cnot there to attack anyone.\u201d Pakistani troops, they say<\/a>, are to be used in training and advisory roles. Such a posture is clearly meant to show Iran that these military moves should not be viewed as provocative.<\/p>\n The deployment all amounts to a gamble. If the tenuous U.S.-Iran cease-fire ends, the war resumes, and more Iranian strikes hit Saudi Arabia, Pakistan will face mounting pressure for its military assets in the country to play a more kinetic role. Despite its commitment to the defense pact, Islamabad would prefer not to invoke it\u2014it doesn\u2019t want to be dragged into the war.<\/p>\n For Pakistan, the best outcome is an end to the Iran war. That would ease its security concerns and reduce the pressure that it feels as it walks the tightrope between Iran and its Arab rivals.<\/p>\n Modi visits the UAE.<\/strong> Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited<\/a> Abu Dhabi last Friday and met United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The trip came a few weeks after Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval visited<\/a> the UAE. Modi\u2019s office released<\/a> a detailed and effusive statement about the visit and the bilateral partnership.<\/p>\n Indeed, the partnership is one of India\u2019s fastest-growing relationships in the Middle East, arguably eclipsed only by its rapidly deepening ties<\/a> with Israel. Though India-UAE ties have intensified in the past decade, the relationship has largely revolved around energy and other economic cooperation.<\/p>\n Doval\u2019s visit, along with pledges<\/a> that the two countries made in January to pursue a strategic defense partnership, amplify how it is fast becoming a security-focused friendship, too. Though New Delhi\u2019s moves in Abu Dhabi are part of a broader effort to expand ties in the Middle East, they are also opportunistic: Pakistan\u2019s worsening ties with the UAE provide India with an opening.<\/p>\n Nepal opens probe of former minister. <\/strong>Nepal\u2019s new reformist government has formed<\/a> a committee that will investigate public allegations against Sudan Gurung, who served as home minister for just a few weeks before resigning last month. Media reports have raised<\/a> concerns about Gurung\u2019s past banking transactions and investments.<\/p>\n Gurung hasn\u2019t been formally accused of any improprieties, but he said he would step down to avoid any conflict of interest. The case is an important test for Prime Minister Balendra Shah\u2019s government, which ran on a pledge to expunge corruption. Gurung himself is a prominent anti-corruption advocate and a leader in the protests that ousted the last government in September.<\/p>\n Shah\u2019s new administration will want to move quickly to show that it won\u2019t spare one of its own when it comes to its commitment to investigate and root out graft.<\/p>\n Cricket spat in Bangladesh.<\/strong> A rare spat<\/a> erupted during a cricket match between Bangladesh and Pakistan<\/a> in Sylhet, Bangladesh, on Tuesday. Pakistani batter Muhammad Rizwan appeared to be distracted by something in his line of vision, leading the Bangladeshi wicketkeeper, Litton Das, to become impatient.<\/p>\n Das asked Rizwan what he was doing and told him to \u201cfocus on your batting here.\u201d Rizwan replied sharply, \u201cIs that your concern?\u201d The cricket commentariat praised Rizwan for maintaining his composure, while blaming Das\u2014one of Bangladesh\u2019s biggest stars\u2014for making much ado about nothing.<\/p>\n Microphones later picked up<\/a> Bangladeshi players taunting Rizwan. Pakistani cricket fans may have hoped that this would all fire up their national team, which has suffered a bad drought<\/a> in recent months. But Bangladesh won the match, completing a series sweep<\/a> of Pakistan\u2014for the first time for Bangladesh on its home soil.<\/p>\n Bangladeshi Prime Minister Tarique Rahman made<\/a> a formal request to China this month that likely raised eyebrows in India: He invited<\/a> Chinese support for a restoration project along the Teesta River in Bangladesh.<\/p>\n Like many waterways in South Asia, the Teesta is running dry, affecting fishermen and others with water-dependent livelihoods. China has previously shown<\/a> interest in helping out. But there wasn\u2019t an official request until this month, soon after Bangladesh\u2019s foreign minister visited Beijing.<\/p>\nPakistan Deploys Troops to Saudi Arabia<\/h3>\n
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