Relationship dossier
Pakistan
South Africa
Relationship assessment
A history of Pakistani support against apartheid followed by post-apartheid bilateral cooperation
Pakistan toward South Africa
+35Pakistan supported the anti-apartheid movement and maintained a sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa. In the post-apartheid period, Pakistan has engaged South Africa through bilateral cooperation, including joint commission and defense arrangements.
South Africa toward Pakistan
+35Post-apartheid South Africa has pursued bilateral cooperation with Pakistan through joint commission mechanisms and defense ties. The scope and practical results of this cooperation are unclear.
Overall relationship
+35The relationship combines Pakistan's concrete support for the struggle against apartheid with post-apartheid cooperation through bilateral and defense mechanisms. These features indicate a cooperative relationship, though the breadth and implementation of current arrangements are not well established.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Pakistan supported the anti-apartheid movement and maintained a sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa. Since the end of apartheid, the two governments have developed bilateral cooperation, including through a joint commission and defense ties. These are substantive but comparatively limited indicators of a cooperative relationship.
Key developments
Pakistan supported the anti-apartheid movement and maintained a sporting boycott of apartheid South Africa.
Pakistan and South Africa established bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including a joint commission.
The two governments developed defense cooperation.
Major uncertainties
- The current scope and implementation of bilateral commission initiatives are unclear.
- Details of defense cooperation and its recent activity are limited.