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Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Pakistan skipped the US Summit for Democracy. Why?
Madiha Afzal
In a surprise move, Pakistan, one of the 110 countries invited to U.S. President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy, skipped the event. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered an oblique statement, thanking the administration for the invitation, and saying that it looked forward to engaging with the U.S. on democracy “at an opportune time in the future.”
WHY PAKISTAN WAS INVITEDPakistan is the fifth largest country in the world — and has a functioning, albeit flawed democracy. The shortcomings primarily stem from the dominance of its military, which exercises influence over key elements of the country’s security and foreign policy. But in a break from periods of military rule in the past, since its 2008 election Pakistan has had successful transitions of power from one civilian government to another via elections. It also has a robust political opposition. To be sure, Pakistan has a troubled human rights record, including suppression of dissidents from its Baluch and Pashtun ethnic minorities, and cases of mob vigilante violence against those accused of blasphemy, including the horrific killing of a Sri Lankan factory manager on December 3. Given these failings, some considered Pakistan’s invitation contentious, and argued it was inconsistent given the other countries in the region that were left out, such as Bangladesh (albeit itself a flawed democracy). But the invitations went out to a range of countries with questionable records on human rights. More importantly, for America — which has all too often bolstered Pakistan’s military at the expense of its civilian leaders, especially in dealings involving Afghanistan for the last four decades — the invitation was an important signal of support for Pakistan’s democracy. It also balanced India’s invitation with one to a regional rival. It is an invitation Pakistan should have accepted. PAKISTAN’S REASONS FOR SKIPPING THE SUMMIT Last November, in a statement congratulating Biden for his election win, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan specifically mentioned that he looked forward to the Summit for Democracy and to working with the White House to counter corruption. But the intervening year has brought a cold shoulder from the Biden administration toward Pakistan and specifically toward Khan, who is yet to receive a phone call from Biden (the issue of the phone call has been the subject of considerable attention in Pakistan). For Pakistan, which had enjoyed a good relationship with the Trump administration, especially during its latter half, with Khan and Trump having personally hit it off — hopes for a broadening of the U.S.-Pakistan relationship with Biden have not materialized. Given the Taliban’s swift takeover of Afghanistan this year (and Pakistan’s long-standing support for the group), the mood in Washington has been dour — though two congressional delegations have visited Pakistan in recent weeks, including a four-member Senate delegation over the weekend, ostensibly to discuss Afghanistan. The Biden administration has narrowed the scope of the relationship to limited engagement on Afghanistan — and given the lack of a phone call, made clear that high-level engagement is not a priority. Khan and his government have perceived that as a snub, and that is part of the subtext for the declined invitation. Khan, who has made clear that he wants a relationship with the U.S. that values Pakistan’s sovereignty, is likely to find support for the decision at home. The second and perhaps larger factor is China. Pakistan and China are exceedingly close partners, and Pakistan is the flagship venue for Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative — the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor promises $62 billion worth of Chinese economic investments in Pakistan. The two countries also have a long-standing military and strategic partnership that dates back to the 1960s. In a speech last week, Khan said that Pakistan did not want to be part of any “bloc” and wanted instead to bridge gaps between the U.S. and China. Lijiang Zhao, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, tweeted that Pakistan had declined to attend the summit and was a “real iron brother.” The underlying message is that Pakistan declined the invitation in support of China, which has shown displeasure over Taiwan’s inclusion. In fact, a source at Pakistan’s foreign ministry directly told The Guardian that Pakistan was not attending as China was not invited. (This may also say something about the summit more broadly — that some countries perceived it as an event that required them to make a choice between the U.S. and China, rather than a meeting to advance the cause of democracy — that the Biden administration should note.) WHY SKIPPING THE SUMMIT IS A MISTAKE ON PAKISTAN’S PART The invitation was in effect an opening offered by the Biden administration to Pakistan. It provided a chance for Pakistan to present its perspective to a global audience that is not always inclined to view it kindly — including regarding its democratic progress and aspirations. But Islamabad gave up the platform the summit offered, and spurned the chance to be at the table when discussing key issues on which many question its commitments: those of human rights and democracy. That is a mistake. Pakistan has also repeatedly said that it doesn’t want its relationships with the U.S. and with China to be seen as zero-sum, and that it wants good relationships with both countries. But if Pakistan chose not to attend a global summit held by the U.S. to show its support for China, Pakistan has effectively chosen a side: China’s. If skipping the summit was a response to Biden’s cold shoulder to Khan, Pakistan could have sent the foreign minister as a delegate. Skipping the summit altogether is a move that will clearly be noted by the Biden administration — and if Pakistan wants to improve ties with it, it’s a puzzling decision that will almost certainly have left a sour taste.
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/12/13/pakistan-skipped-the-us-summit-for-democracy-why/
Pakistan offered safe haven to Taliban as militants killed US troops: Senator Robert Menendez
Welcoming the nomination of Donald Armin Blome as US Ambassador to Pakistan, the senator called for a serious conversation with the Imran Khan government on the path forward in bilateral relations.A Democrat senator from New Jersey Robert Menendez on Tuesday said Islamabad offered a safe haven to the Taliban as its militants targeted and killed troops of the United States. Welcoming the nomination of Donald Armin Blome as US Ambassador to Pakistan, the senator called for a serious conversation with the Imran Khan government on the path forward in bilateral relations.“Islamabad offered a safe haven to the Taliban even as its militants targeted and killed US troops. We need to have a serious conversation with the Pakistani Government in our path forward,” Menendez was quoted as saying news agency ANI. The senator, who is chairing a hearing of US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on ambassadorial nominations to Pakistan, India and Germany, further said, “As I told this committee last month, the failure of our mission in Afghanistan was due, in a small part, to years of Pakistani double-dealing.” “We welcome your (Blome as US Ambassador to Pakistan) nomination at this particularly challenging moment in US-Pakistan bilateral relationship,” he added. Speaking about the nomination of Eric Garcetti as US Ambassador to India, Menendez said, “ As a member of Quad, alongside US-Japan-Australia, India is playing a greater role in helping maintain a free and open Indo-Pacific. In September, the Joe Biden administration hosted the first-ever in-person Quad Summit.” https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-senator-says-pak-offered-safe-haven-to-taliban-as-militants-killed-its-troops-101639499018369.html
عمران نیازی نے ایمانداری کا ڈھونگ رچا کر لوگوں بیوقوف بنایا
پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی پارلیمنٹیرینز کی مرکزی اطلاعات سیکریٹری و رکن قومی اسمبلی شازیہ عطا مری نے کہا کہ عمران احمد نیازی اپنے گھر کا خرچہ چلانے والوں کو نوازتے گئے اور عوام کا تیل نکالتے رہے ہیں ،
یہ کہاں کی ایمانداری ہے کہ آپکے گھر کا خرچ اور دیگر اخراجات کسی اور کی کمائی سےہوں جبکہ عمران نیازی نے ایمانداری کا ڈھونگ رچا کر لوگوں بیوقوف بنایا ہے۔ ان باتوں کا اظہار آج انہوں نے اپنے ایک جاری کردہ بیان میں کیا۔ شازیہ مری نے کہا کہ جس شخص نے کبھی اپنا خرچ نہ اٹھایا ہو اور اپنے بچوں کی فیس نہ بھری ہو اسے عوام کی کیا فکر ہوگی،
عمران نیازی نے تو سرکاری دورے کے دوران ملنے والی گھڑی بھی بیچ دی جبکہ آج ملک مالی بحران کا شکار ہے اور قومی خزانے پر آئی ایم کا راج ہے۔ انہوں نے کہا کہ ملک میں مہنگائی کا سونامی ہے اور نااہل حکومت ایک نیا منی بجٹ لانے کی تیاری کر رہی ہے ، منی بجٹ کے ذریعے عوام کا مزید تیل نکالا جائے گا۔ شازیہ مری نے کہا کہ عوام کو رولانے والا عمران نیازی یہ بھول گیا ہے کہ عوام کو حساب دینا ہوگا جبکہ گوادر کے ماہیگیر ہوں، یا زراعت سے تعلق رکھنے والے کاشتکار اور کسان، آج کوئی بھی ان سے خوش نہیں ہے اور آج ملک میں مافیا کا راج ہے ،انکے سرپرست سلیکٹڈ وزیراعظم عمران احمد نیازی ہے۔
انہوں نے مزید کہا کہ پاکستان کو بلاول بھٹو زرداری جیسے جرتمند لیڈر کی ضرورت ہے اورانشااللہ جلد ہم اس نالائق حکمرانوں سے چھٹکارا حاصل کرینگے اور ملک کی عوام بلاول بھٹو کو اگلا وزریرِاعظم بنائے گی ۔
https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/25914/
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