Bhopinder Singh | US, West should be alert for Pak misuse of rare metals; and other dodgy tactics

Islamabad now bets on rare earths to stay geopolitically useful

xPakistan has long traded its relevance in the dodgy realms of geopolitical necessities, as opposed to dabbling in conventional means of manufacture or services. In the early years, President Ayub Khan had “sold” Pakistan to the West as a “frontline state”, given its strategic geographic positioning during the Cold War, as a bulwark against Soviet expansionism. From joining alliances like SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation) and CENTO (Central Treaty Organisation), to allowing a secret American airbase in Peshawar, all was traded for economic and military aid. The amoral sovereign bearings extended to counter-intuitively investing in close relations with China simultaneously. It wasn’t a wasted investment as Ayub’s succ