'China no longer trusts us': Why Maulana Fazlur Rehman says Pakistan is isolated on all fronts

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman - File Photo

Maulana Fazlur Rehman criticized Pakistan’s foreign and security policies, saying the country has lost all its friends due to flawed decisions and military overreach. He cited stalled CPEC progress, collapsed Afghan trade, and growing regional isolation.

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Pakistan’s deepening diplomatic isolation has now been publicly acknowledged from within its own political establishment. In a rare and blunt indictment of the country’s foreign and security policies, senior politician and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Pakistan has “lost every friend it once had,” blaming decades of flawed decision-making, internal contradictions, and military overreach. His remarks add to growing signs that Islamabad’s long-standing strategic playbook has left it increasingly isolated in the region, even as economic and security pressures mount at home.

Speaking at a public event, Fazlur Rehman questioned the foundations of Pakistan’s foreign policy over the past 78 years, with particular focus on Afghanistan. “In all these decades, we never paused to ask why our Afghan policy failed so miserably,” he said. Highlighting what he called a dangerous contradiction, he noted that trade with Afghanistan has nearly collapsed even as militancy continues unchecked. “Not a single pomegranate or melon can enter Pakistan, yet terrorists keep crossing the border,” he remarked.

The JUI-F chief also took aim at Pakistan’s military leadership, accusing it of policy confusion and mixed signals that have weakened diplomacy. “One general talks about negotiations and peace, while another insists on war. With such confusion, how can a country run a coherent foreign policy,” he asked.

Turning to relations with China, Fazlur Rehman delivered a sharp critique of the Shehbaz Sharif government’s handling of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Once projected as a transformative economic project, CPEC has stalled amid rising security concerns and waning Chinese confidence. “CPEC has seen no real progress during this tenure because China no longer trusts us,” he said.

Recalling earlier slowdowns during the Imran Khan government, Fazlur Rehman questioned whether the current administration had fared any better. “Today I ask has even a single brick moved forward under this government,” he said.

According to Fazlur Rehman, Beijing had expected the Pakistan Democratic Movement government to stabilise relations and restore momentum. “Instead, today China is displeased with Pakistan,” he claimed.

Summing up what he described as a policy collapse, Fazlur Rehman said Pakistan now stands isolated on multiple fronts. “India is our enemy, Afghanistan is our enemy, and even Iran and China are upset with us,” he said, adding, “The people of Pakistan deserve answers, because a nation cannot survive when its policies produce only isolation, mistrust and insecurity.”