Indonesia–Pakistan relations refer to the diplomatic relations between the

Republic of Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guinea. Ind ...

and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which were established in 1955. Indonesia has the world's largest

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

population, while Pakistan has the world's second-largest Muslim population. Unlike Pakistan, Indonesia is a constitutionally

secular state A secular state is an idea pertaining to secularity, whereby a State (polity), state is or purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion, supporting neither religion nor irreligion. A secular state claims to treat all its citizens ...

and does not endorse

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

as its

state religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular state, secular, is not n ...

; however, both countries are member states of the

Organization of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

. The two states are also part of the Developing 8. Pakistan has an embassy in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, while Indonesia maintains an embassy and a consulate-general in Islamabad and Karachi, respectively. According to a 2014

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

poll, 40% of

Indonesians Indonesians (Indonesian: ''orang Indonesia'') are citizens or people originally from Indonesia, regardless of their ethnic or religious background. There are more than 1,300 ethnicities in Indonesia, making it a multicultural archipelagic coun ...

view Pakistan's influence positively, with 31% expressing a negative view. On 8 May 2015, the spouse of the Indonesian ambassador to Pakistan, Heri Listyawati, was killed in the Pakistan Army Mi-17 helicopter crash in the mountainous northern region of Gilgit−Baltistan. Her husband, Burhan Muhammad, was among the injured, and later succumbed to his wounds in a hospital in Singapore on 19 May. The crash also killed other diplomats, which included the ambassadors of Norway and the Philippines to Pakistan, as well as the spouse of a Malaysian diplomat.

History

During the

Indonesian National Revolution The Indonesian National Revolution, or the Indonesian War of Independence, was an armed conflict and diplomatic struggle between the Republic of Indonesia and the Dutch Empire and an internal social revolution during Aftermath of WWII, postw ...

, Pakistan's founder

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

encouraged

soldiers serving in the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

to join hands with the

in their fight against the Dutch Empire's colonization of Indonesia. As a result, around 600 Muslim soldiers of the British Indian Army deserted, putting their lot at stake, and went to Indonesia to fight. Out of these 600 soldiers, 500 died in the fighting, while the survivors returned to Pakistan or continued to live in Indonesia. In August, Jinnah ordered the detainment of the Dutch planes at Karachi air terminal who were landed there after obtaining permission from the Britain. These planes were full of weapons, proceeding to Jakarta to enhance Dutch fortification and arms stockpile to increase animosity against the Indonesian Republic, and Jinnah sent 100 more Pakistan Armed force Infantry troopers to Indonesia to back a Guerrilla warfare against the Dutch. As a recognition of the assistance from

Pakistani Muslim Islam is the largest and the state religion of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. As much as 90% of the population follows Sunni Islam. Most Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, which is represented by the Ba ...

soldiers, Indonesia presented Independence War Awards to the volunteer fighters and the highest honour of ''Adipura'' to Muhammad Ali Jinnah posthumously during the Indonesian Golden Jubilee celebration of 17 August 1995.

Ties during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965

Pakistan's relationship with Indonesia greatly developed under

Pakistani President The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

. During the Second Indo−Pakistani War, Indonesia supported Pakistan and offered to militarily intervene in the conflict by attacking and seizing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India to open up a second front and relieve pressure on Pakistan in

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

and

Pakistani Punjab Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...

, which India tried to attack following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar.

Defence cooperation

Indonesia and Pakistan have signed a memorandum of understanding on defence cooperation, one of the key terms of which is an offer for Indonesia to take part in joint manufacturing between Pakistan and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

for the JF-17 Thunder light multirole fighter jet. The two states also exchange military personnel for training. According to a press release on 4 September 2018, the two sides agreed to strengthen, expand and diversify bilateral defence cooperation through all available forums. The JDCC is the highest form of defence collaboration between the two countries.

Trade relationship

In 2016, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Indonesia reached . Pakistani exports to Indonesia include kinnow, seafood, textiles, cotton yarn, medical equipment, rice, wheat, and carpets while Indonesia exports

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced from ...

to Pakistan. The two countries have a standing preferential trade agreement known as the Indonesia–Pakistan Preferential Trade Agreement, signed in February 2012.

References

External links