Turkey – Sweden Rapture

Ishtiaq Ahmed

Sweden and Finland abandon their long-standing policy of military non-alignment to apply to become the members of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), founded in 1949.

The NATO is pledged to the collective defence of its member states against any external aggression.

In the post-Second World War era, NATO’s main focus has been to counter Russian expansion aspirations along with the resolution of intra-membership disputes.

The full membership approval requires ratification of all member states which also includes Turkey.

Hastened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, both Sweden and Finland saw a purpose in abandoning their long-held policy of military non-alignment to become part of the collective defence capability of NATO.

Turkey was the last full member country to ratify Finland’s membership accession but Sweden is being kept in waiting by Turkey for a number of reasons:

Turkey claims that Sweden is harbouring Kurdish terrorist groups which Sweden, of course, denies. Turkey is demanding their extradition which is being blocked by the Swedish courts. Turkey is also incensed by the recent burning of the Holy Quran and the public ridicule of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s effigy.

Turkey maintains that Sweden is not taking it’s concerns seriously. On the other hand, Sweden maintains that it is doing all that it can but some of the demands of the Turkish government can’t be met. Turkey, however, is not convinced that Sweden taking it’s concerns seriously.

The recent decision by the Swedish courts not to ban acts of hatred such as the burning of the Holy Quran on grounds that it would be an infringement of the Swedish freedom of speech laws does not help to alley Turkey’s concerns.

Moving forward, it is possible that Turkey will concede to the pressure of other member states who are keen to have Sweden into their fold, even more so now given the Russian aggression in Ukraine. However, Turkey is likely to hold it’s position until the Turkey elections in May, even then there is no set timetable for ratification.

Be it noted that Turkey is the second largest standing military force in NATO, after the U.S. Armed Forces. Therefore, Turkish importance to NATO should not be underestimated. The pendulum of Swedish application hangs in balance.

Pakistan V NATO

Advocated by USA, Pakistan was given a designated “Major non-NATO ally” status in 2004;  and since has been involved in a number of NATO missions including the NATO’s fight against international terrorism.

It is for this reason that the visit to Russia by the Prime Minister Imran Khan, on the eve of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was considered most impertinent by the NATO alliance.USA particularly felt betrayed and incensed. Pakistan is being made to pay for this sudden rush of the blood by the former administration.

Country’s are not run by emotions alone but by sound judgments, which Pakistani leadership lacks in big measures.

The author is a British citizen of Pakistani origin with a keen interest in Pakistani and international affairs.