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The AP Interview: New Pakistani FM seeks better ties with US

Pakistan’s new foreign minister says the United States and his country must move beyond past tensions over Afghanistan and are entering a new engagement after years of strained relations under former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 33-year-old son of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, spoke in an interview with The Associated Press in New York, where he was attending meetings this week on the global food crisis at U.N. headquarters. He has also held talks with top diplomats, including a one-hour discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Bhutto Zardari called the meeting with Blinken “very encouraging and very positive and productive.”

“We believe that Pakistan must continue to engage with the United States at all levels,” he said. “This meeting was indeed an important first step.”

Bhutto Zardari co-chairs one of the two largest parties in Pakistan’s disparate governing coalition, which spans the political spectrum from the left to the radically religious. The coalition removed Khan in a no-confidence vote on April 10. Shahbaz Sharif, the leader of the other major party, replaced Khan as prime minister.

U.S.-Pakistani ties deteriorated under Khan, who as prime minister tapped into anti-American sentiment in Pakistan that has spread ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks by al-Qaida, and the U.S. war on terror. The 2011 American raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan angered many hard-liners in the country.

Khan accused the Biden administration of colluding with the opposition to oust him, a claim the administration denies.

Afghanistan also raised mistrust between the two countries. Washington felt Islamabad did too little to help ensure peace as the U.S. and NATO withdrew their troops from Afghanistan; Pakistan insists it did all it could to broker peace and blamed the abrupt U.S. pullout. During the final weeks of the American withdrawal, the Taliban overran Kabul in mid-August and seized power.

Bhutto Zardari said the Pakistan-U.S. relationship in the past had been “too colored by the events in Afghanistan, of the geopolitical considerations, and it’s time for us to move beyond that to engage in a far broader, deeper and more meaningful relationship.” Under Khan, Pakistan pushed hard for the world to engage with Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, and Bhutto Zardari said his country continues to do so.“Regardless of what we feel about the regime in Afghanistan,” the world can’t abandon the Afghan people and must immediately address the country’s humanitarian crisis and crumbling economy, he said. A total collapse of the Afghan economy would be a disaster for Afghans, Pakistan and the international community, he said, expressing concern that many Afghans would flee the country.

Pakistan is also insisting the Taliban live up to their international commitments that the country not be used for terrorism, that girls and women be able to pursue education, and that they form an inclusive government, he said.

The Taliban, however, have taken a more hard-line turn in recent weeks, imposing new restrictions on women. At the same time, tensions have grown between the Taliban and Pakistan over militants based in Afghanistan carrying out attacks in Pakistan. Bhutto Zardari said the more the humanitarian crisis is alleviated and the economy is saved from collapse, “the more likely we are to succeed in our pursuit for women’s rights and the more likely we are to succeed in our efforts against terrorism.” He said his focus in talks with Blinken was on increasing trade, particularly in agriculture, information technology and energy. He said he is looking forward to working with the U.S. on an initiative to empower women, including women entrepreneurs.

On economic, defense and military coordination, “if we continue to engage, then we can move forward in a more positive direction,” Bhutto Zardari said.

Asked about Khan’s anti-U.S. rhetoric, Bhutto Zardari dismissed the ex-premier’s accusation of American collusion, calling it a “fanciful conspiracy theory based on a big lie” to explain his removal. “I am particularly anti the politics of hate, division and polarization,” the foreign minister said. “If we consistently pursue the politics of `you’re with us or against us,’ whether that’s on an international level or a domestic level, I don’t believe it serves the interests of the people of Pakistan.”

He said he believes Pakistanis understand their country needs to engage with the U.S. and all countries, in order to become democratic and progress economically.

President Joe Biden has strengthened ties with Pakistan’s arch-rival India, but Bhutto Zardari said Pakistan is not “jealous” of their relationship. “We believe the world is big enough for both Pakistan and India,” he said.Biden will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of Australia and Japan at a summit in Tokyo on May 24 of the so-called Quad, an Indo-Pacific alliance which China sees as an attempt to contain its economic growth and influence.Pakistan has a very close economic and military relationship with neighboring China, where Bhutto Zardari is heading to on Saturday. He told the AP he didn’t think the growing relationship with the U.S. would hurt its ties to Beijing.

Pakistan has abstained on U.N. General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and withdrawal of its troops. Bhutto Zardari said Pakistan used to rely a lot on Ukrainian wheat and fertilizer and has been affected by rising food prices and calls for diplomacy to end the war.

The lives of the Bhutto Zardari family have in many ways reflected their country’s turbulence. Bhutto Zardari took over his mother’s Pakistan People’s Party after she was killed in a suicide bombing in December 2007.The daughter of Pakistan’s first democratically elected prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who led Pakistan in the 1970s and was overthrown and executed by the military, Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s first woman premier and twice served as head of government.At the time of her assassination, she was rallying in a third bid for premiership. Bhutto Zardari’s life in politics was also shaped by his father, Asif Ali Zardari, who served as Pakistan’s president from 2008 to 2013. In the interview with the AP, Bhutto Zardari recalled the legacy of his mother and grandfather. He called them “towering figures on the world stage,” and said he feels “the burden of history.”“What motivates and drives me is the pursuit of their unfulfilled mission,” he said. “I hope that we live up to the expectations of the people of Pakistan” who have longed for true democracy and struggled for their economic, political and human rights.

“These are the ideals that we hold dear and we work towards every day,” Bhutto Zardari said.

https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-politics-bilawal-bhutto-zardari-united-states-44bedf833e4058e2c0e0c23b66ae9796

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The AP Interview: New Pakistani FM seeks better ties with US

Pakistan’s new foreign minister says the United States and his country must move beyond past tensions over Afghanistan and are entering a new engagement after years of strained relations under former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the 33-year-old son of assassinated former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, spoke in an interview with The Associated Press in New York, where he was attending meetings this week on the global food crisis at U.N. headquarters. He has also held talks with top diplomats, including a one-hour discussion with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Bhutto Zardari called the meeting with Blinken “very encouraging and very positive and productive.”

“We believe that Pakistan must continue to engage with the United States at all levels,” he said. “This meeting was indeed an important first step.”

Bhutto Zardari co-chairs one of the two largest parties in Pakistan’s disparate governing coalition, which spans the political spectrum from the left to the radically religious. The coalition removed Khan in a no-confidence vote on April 10. Shahbaz Sharif, the leader of the other major party, replaced Khan as prime minister.

U.S.-Pakistani ties deteriorated under Khan, who as prime minister tapped into anti-American sentiment in Pakistan that has spread ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks by al-Qaida, and the U.S. war on terror. The 2011 American raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan angered many hard-liners in the country.

Khan accused the Biden administration of colluding with the opposition to oust him, a claim the administration denies.

Afghanistan also raised mistrust between the two countries. Washington felt Islamabad did too little to help ensure peace as the U.S. and NATO withdrew their troops from Afghanistan; Pakistan insists it did all it could to broker peace and blamed the abrupt U.S. pullout. During the final weeks of the American withdrawal, the Taliban overran Kabul in mid-August and seized power.

Bhutto Zardari said the Pakistan-U.S. relationship in the past had been “too colored by the events in Afghanistan, of the geopolitical considerations, and it’s time for us to move beyond that to engage in a far broader, deeper and more meaningful relationship.” Under Khan, Pakistan pushed hard for the world to engage with Afghanistan’s new Taliban rulers, and Bhutto Zardari said his country continues to do so.“Regardless of what we feel about the regime in Afghanistan,” the world can’t abandon the Afghan people and must immediately address the country’s humanitarian crisis and crumbling economy, he said. A total collapse of the Afghan economy would be a disaster for Afghans, Pakistan and the international community, he said, expressing concern that many Afghans would flee the country.

Pakistan is also insisting the Taliban live up to their international commitments that the country not be used for terrorism, that girls and women be able to pursue education, and that they form an inclusive government, he said.

The Taliban, however, have taken a more hard-line turn in recent weeks, imposing new restrictions on women. At the same time, tensions have grown between the Taliban and Pakistan over militants based in Afghanistan carrying out attacks in Pakistan. Bhutto Zardari said the more the humanitarian crisis is alleviated and the economy is saved from collapse, “the more likely we are to succeed in our pursuit for women’s rights and the more likely we are to succeed in our efforts against terrorism.” He said his focus in talks with Blinken was on increasing trade, particularly in agriculture, information technology and energy. He said he is looking forward to working with the U.S. on an initiative to empower women, including women entrepreneurs.

On economic, defense and military coordination, “if we continue to engage, then we can move forward in a more positive direction,” Bhutto Zardari said.

Asked about Khan’s anti-U.S. rhetoric, Bhutto Zardari dismissed the ex-premier’s accusation of American collusion, calling it a “fanciful conspiracy theory based on a big lie” to explain his removal. “I am particularly anti the politics of hate, division and polarization,” the foreign minister said. “If we consistently pursue the politics of `you’re with us or against us,’ whether that’s on an international level or a domestic level, I don’t believe it serves the interests of the people of Pakistan.”

He said he believes Pakistanis understand their country needs to engage with the U.S. and all countries, in order to become democratic and progress economically.

President Joe Biden has strengthened ties with Pakistan’s arch-rival India, but Bhutto Zardari said Pakistan is not “jealous” of their relationship. “We believe the world is big enough for both Pakistan and India,” he said.Biden will meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of Australia and Japan at a summit in Tokyo on May 24 of the so-called Quad, an Indo-Pacific alliance which China sees as an attempt to contain its economic growth and influence.Pakistan has a very close economic and military relationship with neighboring China, where Bhutto Zardari is heading to on Saturday. He told the AP he didn’t think the growing relationship with the U.S. would hurt its ties to Beijing.

Pakistan has abstained on U.N. General Assembly resolutions condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and withdrawal of its troops. Bhutto Zardari said Pakistan used to rely a lot on Ukrainian wheat and fertilizer and has been affected by rising food prices and calls for diplomacy to end the war.

The lives of the Bhutto Zardari family have in many ways reflected their country’s turbulence. Bhutto Zardari took over his mother’s Pakistan People’s Party after she was killed in a suicide bombing in December 2007.The daughter of Pakistan’s first democratically elected prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who led Pakistan in the 1970s and was overthrown and executed by the military, Benazir Bhutto was Pakistan’s first woman premier and twice served as head of government.At the time of her assassination, she was rallying in a third bid for premiership. Bhutto Zardari’s life in politics was also shaped by his father, Asif Ali Zardari, who served as Pakistan’s president from 2008 to 2013. In the interview with the AP, Bhutto Zardari recalled the legacy of his mother and grandfather. He called them “towering figures on the world stage,” and said he feels “the burden of history.”“What motivates and drives me is the pursuit of their unfulfilled mission,” he said. “I hope that we live up to the expectations of the people of Pakistan” who have longed for true democracy and struggled for their economic, political and human rights.

“These are the ideals that we hold dear and we work towards every day,” Bhutto Zardari said.

https://apnews.com/article/afghanistan-politics-bilawal-bhutto-zardari-united-states-44bedf833e4058e2c0e0c23b66ae9796

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Beijing urges Pakistan to stop terror attacks on Chinese nationals

By Liu Zhen

Premier Li Keqiang tells Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to bring to justice those responsible for a deadly attack on teachers at a Confucius Institute last month.

Sharif says security measures will be stepped up for Chinese nationals in the wake of the attack.

Pakistan has been urged to “ensure” further terrorist attacks against Chinese nationals do not happen after last month’s suicide bombing in Karachi.In a telephone call with Pakistan’s new Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Premier Li Keqiang said China had been shocked and outraged by the attack.Three Chinese teachers from a Confucius Institute and their local driver were killed in the attack by a female suicide bomber at a university campus in the southern city of Karachi on April 26. The Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist militant group in nearby Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the attack.

“I hope that the Pakistani side will bring the perpetrators to justice as soon as possible … and comprehensively strengthen security measures for Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan to ensure that similar tragedies will not be repeated,” Li said, according to state news agency Xinhua.

Shehbaz said his government would strengthen security measures for all Chinese institutions and personnel in Pakistan to ensure that similar incidents will not be repeated, and stressed that Pakistan strongly condemns terrorism, values the lives of Chinese personnel in Pakistan and “regards the Chinese that was killed and injured as our own compatriots without distinction”.

“We will do the utmost to investigate the incident, arrest the perpetrators and punish them according to the law,” he said. On Monday, Pakistani media reported that a woman had been arrested on suspicion of plotting a suicide attack on a Chinese motorcade on the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project for Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.

The reports said the woman had been found carrying detonators and explosives and raids were taking place to arrest other members of the network involved.

The CPEC, a series of US$65 billion infrastructure projects that aim to link China’s far western Xinjiang region to the Indian Ocean through Pakistan, have been a target for local militant groups such as the BLA.

In July 2021, a bus blast killed 13 people, including nine Chinese workers near the construction site of the Dasu hydropower project. The Pakistani government said it was a suicide bombing by Islamist militants.

Chinese instructors at Pakistani Confucius Institutes have left the country since the attack, Nassir Uddin, the director of the department at the University of Karachi, told the television station Geo News on Sunday.Uddin insisted that the institute would stay open, adding that Pakistani teachers are being asked to help teach Mandarin.In Monday’s phone call, the first between Li and Sharif since the latter took office last month, the premier said China has always prioritised its relations with Pakistan and would firmly support the Pakistani side in defending national sovereignty and security, developing its economy, improving people’s livelihoods and maintaining financial stability.

“The Chinese side is willing to strengthen strategic communication with the Pakistani side and promote cooperation on major projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor,” he said. Sharif said the friendship between the two countries was deep-rooted and the level of cooperation had reached “an unprecedented level”. “Pakistan is willing to work with China to accelerate the construction of the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor, deepen cooperation in key projects and special economic zones, and people-to-people exchanges for the betterment of the two peoples,” he added.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3177970/beijing-urges-pakistan-stop-terror-attacks-chinese-nationals

بلاول بھٹو زرداری 18 مئی کو دو روزہ دورے پر امریکا جائیں گے، دفتر خارجہ

 وزیرِخارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری 18 مئی کو امریکا کے دو روزہ دورے پر روانہ

ہوں گے۔

ترجمان دفتر خارجہ عاصم افتخار کے مطابق وزیر خارجہ گلوبل فوڈ سیکیورٹی کال ٹو ایکشن وزارتی اجلاس میں شرکت کریں گے۔ 

انہوں نے کہا کہ وزیرخارجہ امریکی ہم منصب انٹونی بلنکن کی دعوت پر امریکا کا دورہ کریں گے۔

ترجمان دفترخارجہ کے مطابق وزیرِخارجہ 19 مئی کو سلامتی کونسل کی کھلی بحث میں بھی شرکت کریں گے۔

اس موقع پر وزیر خارجہ ملاقاتوں میں پاکستان کے نقطہ نظر اور پالیسی ترجیحات کو اُجاگر کریں گے۔

ترجمان دفترخارجہ نے کہا کہ وزیر خارجہ امریکی ہم منصب انٹونی بلنکن سے ملاقات کریں گے۔ 

ترجمان کے مطابق بلاول بھٹو زرداری 21 مئی کو چین جائیں گے، جہاں وہ اپنے چینی ہم منصب سے ملاقات کریں گے جبکہ 23 مئی کو سوئٹزر لینڈ جائیں گے جہاں وہ ڈیووس میں ورلڈ اکنامک فورم میں شریک ہوں گے۔

https://jang.com.pk/news/1086888

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#AbortionRightsAreHumanRights - Too Much Church in the State

By Maureen Dowd During her Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Amy Coney Barrett tried to reassure Democrats who were leery of her role as a “handmaid” in a Christian group called “People of Praise.”

The group has a male-dominated hierarchy and a rigid view of sexuality reflecting conservative gender norms and rejecting openly gay men and women. Men, the group’s decision makers, “headed” their wives.Justice Barrett said then that she would not impose her personal beliefs on the country. “Judges can’t just wake up one day and say ‘I have an agenda — I like guns, I hate guns, I like abortion, I hate abortion’ — and walk in like a royal queen and impose their will on the world,” she said amicably. “It’s not the law of Amy. It’s the law of the American people.”

Yet that’s what seems to be coming. Like a royal queen, she will impose her will on the world. It will be the law of Amy. And Sam. And Clarence. And Neil. And Brett.

It’s outrageous that five or six people in lifelong unaccountable jobs are about to impose their personal views on the rest of the country. While they will certainly provide the legal casuistry for their opinion, let’s not be played for fools: The Supreme Court’s impending repeal of Roe will be owed to more than judicial argumentation. There are prior worldviews at work in this upheaval. As a Catholic whose father lived through the Irish Catholics “need not apply” era, I’m happy to see Catholics do well in the world. There is an astonishing preponderance of Catholics on the Supreme Court — six out of the nine justices, and a seventh, Neil Gorsuch, was raised as a Catholic and went to the same Jesuit boys’ high school in a Maryland suburb that Brett Kavanaugh and my nephews did, Georgetown Prep. My father was furious that Catholic presidential candidates Al Smith and J.F.K. had to defend themselves against scurrilous charges that, if they got to the White House, they would take their orders from the pope.

One must tread carefully here. A Catholic signed on to the Roe v. Wade decision and another was in the court majority that upheld it in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a Catholic, has expressed support for Roe, and Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative Catholic, may be working for a compromise decision that can uphold Roe.

Still, this Catholic feels an intense disquiet that Catholic doctrine may be shaping (or misshaping) the freedom and the future of millions of women, and men. There is a corona of religious fervor around the court, a churchly ethos that threatens to turn our whole country upside down. I come from a family that hews to the Catholic dictates on abortion, and I respect the views of my relatives. But it’s hard for me to watch the church trying to control women’s sexuality after a shocking number of its own priests sexually assaulted children and teenagers for decades, and got recycled into other parishes, as the church covered up the whole scandal. It is also hard to see the church couch its anti-abortion position in the context of caring for women when it continues to keep women in subservient roles in the church.

Religiosity is a subject some Catholics on the court have been more open about in recent years.

Last year, at Thomas Aquinas College in California, Justice Samuel Alito fretted that there was growing cultural hostility toward Christianity and Catholicism. “There is a real movement to suppress the expression of anything that opposes the secular orthodoxy,” he said. Precisely which belief or practice of his religion does he feel he has been denied? President Biden is a Catholic who is uncomfortable with the issue of abortion despite his support for Roe. Still, when Barrett was a law professor at Notre Dame, a group she belonged to unanimously denounced the university’s decision to honor Biden even though he didn’t support the church’s position on abortion. We have no one in the public arena like Mario Cuomo, who respected the multiplicity of values in an open society and had the guts to wade into the lion’s den at Notre Dame in 1984.

“The Catholic who holds political office in a pluralistic democracy — who is elected to serve Jews and Muslims, atheists and Protestants, as well as Catholics — bears special responsibility,” Cuomo said. “He or she undertakes to help create conditions under which all can live with a maximum of dignity and with a reasonable degree of freedom; where everyone who chooses may hold beliefs different from specifically Catholic ones — sometimes contradictory to them; where the laws protect people’s right to divorce, to use birth control and even to choose abortion.”

The explosive nature of Alito’s draft opinion on Roe has brought to the fore how radical the majority on the court is, willing to make women fit with their zealous worldview — a view most Americans reject. It has also shown how radical Republicans are; although after pushing for this result for decades, because it made a good political weapon, they are now pretending it’s no big deal. We will all have to live with the catastrophic results of their zealotry.

OPINION BY JESSE WEGMAN: Justice Thomas Should Take a Long Look in the Mirror

Thanks to the unparalleled position of power he has held for three decades, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — perhaps the most distinctive voice in an institution that has the final say over many of the nation’s most fraught debates — has long enjoyed the luxury of knowing that 330 million Americans are bound to listen to him. The question is, does he ever listen to himself?

To go by his recent and repeated warnings about the dangers of a politicized court, it sure seems as if he doesn’t.

In a talk at Notre Dame last fall, Justice Thomas complained about what he considered unfair press coverage of the court’s decisions. “I think the media makes it sounds as though you are just always going right to your personal preference,” he said. That was before the nation learned that his wife, Virginia Thomas, a high-profile right-wing activist, had traded dozens of text messages with the White House chief of staff as part of a frantic effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and keep Donald Trump in power. When the Supreme Court later rejected Mr. Trump’s request to block the release to Congress of White House records that may well include some of Ms. Thomas’s communications, Justice Thomas was the sole dissenter.

This month, at a judicial conference in Atlanta, he expressed concern that declining respect for our institutions “bodes ill for a free society” and that young people today don’t have the same respect for the law as older generations. Those remarks came shortly after a draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the press — a shocking breach of Supreme Court protocol but, if the draft’s conclusion holds, only the most recent in a growing string of rulings that align suspiciously well with Republican political priorities.

Amid the ongoing outcry over the draft opinion, Justice Thomas took another opportunity to lament the fragile status of the court during an event on Friday night sponsored by conservative and libertarian groups. “What happened at the court is tremendously bad,” he said of the leak, comparing it to an “infidelity.” After the leak, he said, trust among the justices “is gone forever.” He added, “I wonder how long we’re going to have these institutions at the rate we’re undermining them.”

Great question. Not much longer, I would say, especially when the people who run them engage in openly partisan attacks, as Justice Thomas did on Friday, accusing liberals of tactics, such as protesting peacefully outside the justices’ homes, that conservatives supposedly never use.

“You would never visit Supreme Court justices’ houses when things didn’t go our way,” he said. “We didn’t throw temper tantrums. It is incumbent on us to always act appropriately and not to repay tit for tat.”

First, and please forgive the presumption, but perhaps His Honor has forgotten the reaction to certain cases that reached the Supreme Court — for example, Brown v. Board of Education? After that landmark 1954 ruling, which struck down the “separate but equal” doctrine and barred the racial segregation of schools, white conservatives across the South were so angry that they refused to obey it. State officials physically blocked Black children from entering schools, standing down only at gunpoint. Justice Thomas also seems to have drawn a blank on the presidential election of 2000, in which a protracted recount in the pivotal state of Florida was interrupted by a posse of Republican operatives, campaign staffers and lawyers in suits, chanting loudly and angrily outside a Miami election office — an incident that became known as the Brooks Brothers Riot. A few weeks later, the Supreme Court shut down the recount for good, handing Florida’s electoral votes, and thus the White House, to the Republican candidate, George W. Bush. The vote was 5 to 4, with all Republican-nominated justices, including Justice Thomas, in the majority.

There is no question that the court has become politicized, to its and the nation’s great detriment. But to be subjected to a lecture on that fact by Clarence Thomas, of all people, is like listening to a plutocrat lounging by his infinity pool in a bathrobe, eating a gold-plated steak while bemoaning the horrors of extreme income inequality.

Has it really not occurred to the justice that by giving partisan political speeches in partisan political environments, he is precisely what is damaging the integrity of the Supreme Court? Perhaps being cosseted in prestige and power for so long makes it easy to ignore the consequences of your words and actions. Justice Thomas isn’t alone on that count, of course. In 2004, Justice Antonin Scalia went duck hunting with Vice President Dick Cheney and accepted free air travel from him, even as Mr. Cheney had a case pending before the court. In 2016, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called Mr. Trump “a faker” in a CNN interview. “I can’t imagine what the country would be — with Donald Trump as our president,” she told the Times in a previous interview. The Times editorial board criticized the justices’ behavior in both cases, arguing that, as we said at the time, they should watch what they say and do “in the interest of justice, and of the court’s reputation.”

These days, Justice Thomas and his fellow right-wingers are barely pretending to care about the court’s reputation; they’re just whining about public outrage at their rulings even as they flaunt the most politicized majority in memory. There are now two members of the court, Justice Thomas and Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who have attacked Democrats and liberals, as a group, in public settings. (Small World Dept.: Justice Kavanaugh — who accused Democrats at his 2018 confirmation hearing of an “orchestrated political hit” against him and warned that they had “sowed the wind” — was a member of the legal team that helped Mr. Bush prevail in the 2000 election fight.) Even Senate Republicans’ outrageous engineering of the court’s current right-wing supermajority seems to have escaped Justice Thomas’s concern. At the Friday event — again, remember, sponsored by conservative groups — he claimed that Republicans had “never trashed a Supreme Court nominee.” Yet doesn’t history record that they openly stole a vacancy from President Barack Obama in 2016 by refusing even to give a hearing to his third nominee, Merrick Garland? Au contraire, according to Justice Thomas: Mr. Garland “did not get a hearing, but he was not trashed.” As Tom Cruise’s hit man in “Collateral” said when asked if he’d killed a man he had just shot who then fell out of a tall building, “No, I shot him. The bullets and the fall killed him.”

The Supreme Court has always operated within and not outside politics; like the rest of our government, it consists of human beings. Still, the justices have generally striven to stay above the fray. In the interest of protecting and promoting their institutional legitimacy, they have come together to decide some of the most contentious cases; the vote in Brown was 9 to 0, in Roe 7 to 2. Today’s right-wing justices appear to have no qualms about narrow victories, even though five of them were appointed by presidents who first won the presidency after losing the popular vote. Perhaps their brazenness is not in spite of this fact but because of it. They ascended to their high position in a manner that disregarded a majority of the American people, so why not rule that way, too?

The Supreme Court is not there to vindicate the demands of the majority, but neither is it there to thumb its nose at that majority again and again, in a nakedly partisan way. If Justice Thomas is genuinely concerned about the eroding faith in his own institution, the first thing he can do is look in the mirror. The next thing he can do — I’ll say it again — is step aside and give the job to someone who will actually work to protect the integrity of the court.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/15/opinion/clarence-thomas-supreme-court.html

Video - Foreign Minister & Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addressing party workers at Khi Airport

#Pakistan - Protection of minorities demand

All the members of civil society and minority communities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here Sunday grieved and sorrow over the brutal killing of two Sikh men in Batatal Bazar and expressed annoyance over the act.

The Sikhs of Peshawar alongwith residents of the city have blocked the G.T.Road road near Balahisar Fort demanding protection of minority’s communities. The participants chanted slogans for early arrest of the killers and said that government should take steps for eradication of frustration and fear that was being felt in the community.
Chairman National Minority Commission Pakistan, Chela Ram Kewalani expressed heartfelt condolence over the killing of two Sikh brothers in Peshawar and said that the killing was tantamount to killing humanity. He asked for detailed report from the administration concerned and said that killers should be caught as soon as possible.
Meanwhile in a statement issued by President Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (PSGPC), Ameer Singh Pardhan said that all Sikh community residing in Pakistan strongly condemn the brutal assassination of our two brothers in Peshawar. They also demanded government for early arrest of the killers.
Similarly, Chairman Pakistan Council for World Religion (PCWR)-Faith Friends, Qari Roohullah Madani and other members expressed condolence over the killing of two Sikh members and marked the incident as a inhumane act to sabotage peace in the society. He said all the residents in the province were interrelated with interfaith harmony while this barbaric act could only be committed by the enemies of motherlands.
He also demanded provincial government for taking coherent steps for the safety of lives and properties of the people.

https://thefrontierpost.com/protection-of-minorities-demand/

#Pakistan - Imran Khan was trying to turn every institution into his tiger force, alleges Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari

 Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari alleged on Sunday that former prime minister Imran Khan wanted to turn "every institution" into his "tiger force”.

Addressing a crowd upon his arrival in Karachi for the first time since joining Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, the PPP chairman congratulated his supporters — referred to as jiyalas — for their victory in removing the PTI government from power.

“Democracy has won, all four provinces have won. We have sent the selected, puppet and incompetent prime minister home,” said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman, who is the foreign minister in Shehbaz Sharif’s cabinet, said that his jiyalas are “always successful” when they come out for the protection of the Constitution and take on the dictator of the time. He added that his supporters started their movement when Imran Khan came to power.

“We were standing against this undemocratic person since day one. We looked into his eyes and said you were not elected but selected. We faced injustice but did not sell our principles,” said Bilawal.

The PPP chairman went on to say that when he began his long march, he asked Khan to dissolve the assembly but he was under the influence of power and did not listen to the then Opposition.

Bilawal said that the then Opposition submitted the no-confidence motion against Khan when his caravan reached Islamabad.

“We used democratic means to send an undemocratic person home,” said Bilawal and added that the PTI chairman’s government was removed as part of the democratic process compared to what he claimed was a foreign conspiracy.

The foreign minister said that Khan's removal from power was not a foreign conspiracy but a win for political workers, adding that Khan’s ouster was a victory of the Parliament, the Constitution, and democracy.

“White House did not conspire against you but the Bilawal House did,” said the PPP chairman while referring to his residence.

Bilawal said that members of the current government “forgot” their “political differences and formed” the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM). He said that the PPP convinced the allied parties not to leave the Parliament and send Khan home via the no-confidence motion.

Continuing his tirade against Khan, Bilawal said that the former government stole people’s jobs and instead of ending corruption, it broke all records of corruption.

“Imran wanted every institution to turn into his tiger force. Imran wanted the establishment to turn into a tiger force and support him,” claimed Bilawal, adding that the PTI chairman caused harm to the country as he was leaving.

“The coward would not even come and stand in the Parliament. Khan attacked the Constitution while running away from the no-confidence motion,” said Bilawal, adding that the PTI chairman is running a

"why was I not saved movement".

“What kind of a prime minister was he as he ruined the economy during his tenure. He emptied the treasury and left an economic crisis to torture people,” said Bilawal.

The foreign minister also said that the former premier “isolated the country for the sake of his ego” and harmed Pakistan’s foreign policy. 

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/958025-imran-khan-was-trying-to-turn-every-institution-into-his-tiger-force-alleges-bilawal-bhutto-zardari

#Pakistan - Foreign Minister Bilawal’s New York visit ‘a balancing act’

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari is expected in New York this week to attend a two-day Global Food Security conference at the UN headquarters, and possibly a one-on-one meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.Mr Blinken will chair the May 18-19 conference to review the food security challenges triggered by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Ukraine was the main source of food supplies to some African and Middle Eastern nations.

The foreign minister will reach New York on May 17 and address the first session of the food security conference on May 18 at the UN headquarters. He will also address the second session, on May 19, at the UN Security Council.

The foreign minister’s one-on-one meeting with Secretary Blinken may happen on the sidelines of the conference as a separate meeting in Washington seems unlikely.

PPP chairman assures Chinese nationals of complete security; asks ministers to set targets for themselves

The Pakistan mission at the UN is facilitating the foreign minister’s engagement at the food security conference while the embassy in Washi­ng­ton is working on the expected bilateral meeting.On Thursday, Mr Bhutto-Zardari virtually addressed a Covid-19 summit at the White House and acknowledged that “the US was immensely generous in providing 62 million vaccines to Pakistan”.He, however, added that “China, from the outset, also supported us tremendously”, underlining Islama­bad’s need to maintain a balance between the two major world powers.

Pakistan’s decision to participate in a conference, which will highlight the impact of Russia’s invasion on food supplies across the globe, signals a major departure from the policies of ex-PM Imran Khan.

Security for Chinese

Also on Saturday, Mr Bhutto-Zardari reassured the provision of security to Chinese nationals and said the government would not rest until the perpetrators of the Karachi attack were given exemplary punishment. He was speaking at a memorial service held at the Foreign Office to pay homage to victims of April 26 attack in which four people, including three Chinese teachers, lost their lives. In a bid to reassure the Chinese government, the foreign minister said: “We will also not allow anyone to harm our iron-clad friendship.” “I also avail myself of this opportunity to pledge complete safety and maximum security for our Chinese friends in Pakistan. You are our guests, and we are determined to ensure your safety and comfort in our country,” he added. He hailed the three Chinese nationals who were killed in the attack, as “dedicated, caring and loving teachers” and said they were pursuing the noble mission to educate Pakistani students in Chinese language and building bridges between both nations.

Meeting of ministers

Separately, while chairing a meeting of PPP federal ministers on Saturday, Mr Bhutto-Zardari was briefed on future plans of their respective ministries. According to an official handout issued by the PPP Media Office, Mr Bhutto-Zardari was also briefed on the performance of the ministries by the respective federal ministers and the future plans regarding public welfare. Speaking on the occasion, the foreign minister said that the immediate solution to the problems of the people was possible only “when you have a strong connection with the common man.”

One of the ministers told Dawn that the PPP chairman had presided over a virtual meeting in which he had also asked them to set targets.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1689749/bilawals-new-york-visit-a-balancing-act

#Pakistan - Foreign Minister, Chairman Bilawal condemns the killings of Sikh citizens in Peshawar

Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has condemned and expressed concern over the killing of Sikh citizens in Peshawar.

The accused involved in the killings of Sikh citizens should be arrested immediately, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said.

No one will be allowed to disturb inter-faith harmony in the country and harm national unity. PPP is the real representative party of all sections of the country and will not leave the Sikh community alone.

Chairman Bilawal expressed heartfelt sympathy and solidarity with the bereaved families.

https://www.ppp.org.pk/pr/27015/

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Video Report - Chairman PPP and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addresses a condolence reference

Video Report - Foreign Minister & Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s talk | 14 May 2022

We will not forgive those behind attack on Chinese teachers: FM Bilawal Bhutto

 

• Perpetrators to be given exemplary punishment, FM Bilawal says.
• "We will not forgive the enemies of Pak-China friendship," he says.
• Bilawal says Pakistan will defeat terrorism.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Saturday said that the whole Pakistani nation stands in solidarity with the affected Chinese families and vowed that those behind the Karachi University attack will not be forgiven.The foreign minister was speaking at a condolence reference held at the Foreign Office for the Chinese nationals who were killed in a suicide attack last month at the KU's Confucius Institute.Four people, including three Chinese nationals, were killed while four others sustained injuries in a car explosion on the premises of the University of Karachi.Today's FO event was held a couple of days after Bilawal Bhutto's first meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in which the focus was on the security of Chinese nationals in Pakistan.

"We will not forgive the enemies of Pak-China friendship," the foreign minister said while speaking at the memorial service for victims of the Karachi terrorist attack.

"The attack was carried out in the name of Baloch people's rights. The Chinese are our guests and we will provide them all assistance."

The foreign minister said that no one can accept in Pakistan that the guests are targeted in a terrorist attack as we ourselves passed through this. The foreign minister stressed that the people of Pakistan were killed in the name of religion, and noted that all provinces had witnessed terrorism first-hand.Bilawal said the attack was not only on the Chinese teachers, but it was an assault on Pakistan-China's all-weather friendship, which has always overcome challenges.

"Everyone is aware that our relationship with China is not limited to state-to-state, but it expands to people-to-people," the foreign minister said.

The PPP chairman added that in the past, people were targeted in the name of religion, but Pakistan has to face such terrorists again, and it will emerge victorious from this test.The foreign minister expressed that Pakistanis will never tolerate terrorist attacks on their guests and vowed to give exemplary punishment to the perpetrators.

"The sacrifice of Chinese and Pakistani people will not go into vain," he added.

https://www.geo.tv/latest/416844-we-will-not-forgive-those-behind-ku-attack-fm-bilawal-bhutto

Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto to leave for US on 16th

Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari will leave for the United States on May 16 to attend the Global Food Security meeting to be held in New York on May 18, official sources told The News. He will be accompanied by high-level officials from the Foreign Office.

Bilawal was extended an invitation by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken when he telephoned to congratulate Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on taking office last Friday. The foreign minister also participated Thursday night, virtually, in the Second Global Covid Summit after he accepted an invitation from Secretary Blinken.Bilawal, after the telephone call, had himself disclosed the news on Twitter in which he said, “Received call from Secretary Blinken and am grateful for warm felicitations on my assumption of office. We exchanged views on strengthening mutually beneficial broad-based relationship, promotion of peace, development and security while agreeing engagement with mutual respect which is the way forward."

“The foreign minister received the invitation to visit the US last Friday. The Foreign Office is still in the process of finalising the details. Senior officials will be accompanying the minister”, sources told The News.

Though efforts are also being made to arrange for a bilateral meeting with Secretary Blinken, officials say they cannot confirm a meeting at this point. The Foreign Office says that efforts are being made for bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the summit but did not say which countries’ representatives would be meeting the foreign minister.

The Foreign Office, meanwhile, is also finalising a ‘high-level’ visit to Davos-Klosters, in Switzerland to attend the World Economic Forum from May 22 to May 26. “Details are still being finalised but it is confirmed that it will be a high-level delegation to Davos. Whether it is Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif or Foreign Minister Bilawal, we cannot confirm as yet," say officials. Other sources indicated that most probably the prime minister would attend. The Foreign Office when approached said that they will only put out an official statement after all details are finalised and were reluctant to give more information.

“You would be aware that an invitation has been extended and Pakistan’s participation has been confirmed for this ministerial meeting on food security that is going to be held in New York on May 18, 2022. We will share further details as soon as these are firmed up. We can also look forward to other bilateral engagements on the sidelines during this visit,” FO spokesperson told the media.

On Thursday US Charge d’ Affaires, Angela Aggeler called on Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and, according to the Foreign Office, the minister in his remarks to the US diplomats said that Pakistan wants to enhance its relations with the United States. “The foreign minister invited US companies to come and invest in Pakistan. He also thanked the US for the 64 million Covid vaccines sent to Pakistan. Angela Aggeler thanked the foreign minister and hoped for stronger bilateral relations between the two sides," said a statement from the Foreign Office.

However, there was no mention in the statement about the visit to the US by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari or whether a bilateral meeting with the Secretary of State has been finalised.Earlier, the Inter Services Intelligence Director General (ISI), Lt General Nadeem Anjum, visited Washington this week and held meetings with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and CIA Director William J Burns but there was no statement either from Rawalpindi or Washington.Reports indicated that the DG ISI could have tried to ensure that there was a bilateral meeting between the foreign minister and his US counterpart.

Earlier, during the weekly media briefing, the spokesperson was asked about the allegation by Imran Khan in which he blamed the United States for the regime change in Pakistan. “On the question regarding allegations, regime change and other things, I think if you would have followed our previous press briefing, I had comprehensively commented on these issues, and from the Foreign Office perspective, there is not much for me to add at this point of time. With the US, there is shared desire for further strengthening and enhancing of mutually beneficial bilateral relations as manifested by recent and ongoing contacts," responded the spokesperson. The spokesperson confirmed that a Pakistani delegation would be visiting India for the Group of Legal Experts of SCO-RATS scheduled to be held in New Delhi from 15-20 May 2022. “It is a regular expert level meeting which will be joined by all SCO member countries and there is nothing unusual about it. These meetings are periodically held in Tashkent but since India is current chair of SCO-RATS, the meeting is being hosted by India in New Delhi. A working-level Pakistan delegation, led by MOFA, would participate in the meeting with participation from other officials”, he said.

To a question on relations and talks with India, the spokesperson said, “In diplomacy you never shut the doors. Let me say very clearly and I think it is very obvious from the statements of the leadership of the previous government and the current government, and I think you will see a lot of consistency in these statements, and that is because this is an issue on which there is national consensus. So yes, we have been saying we want friendly relations with all neighbours including India but the situation that arose in the wake of India’s illegal and unilateral actions in IIOJ&K on 5th August 2019 and subsequent steps they took, the environment for a fruitful, constructive dialogue is not there”. He added that Pakistan has been saying very consistently that the onus is on India to create an environment that is conducive for a result-oriented dialogue, and yes Jammu and Kashmir as the core dispute has to be at the forefront of any such dialogue.

To a query on the recent restrictions on Afghan girls and women inside Afghanistan, the spokesperson responded, “Thank you for the question. What I can say is that our own experience shows that women have an important role in national development and I think as a progressive Islamic country, it has always been our endeavour to harness and maximize the full potential of women and girls in all walks of lives.

This is also as you would know in keeping with the Islamic teachings and traditions, which provide a central role to women in the society. We hope the general expectations of the international community in this regard will be duly considered by the Afghan authorities in their own interest”.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari held a telephonic conversation with OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha to apprise him of the latest situation in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJ&K) in the wake of so-called “Delimitation Commission” in the occupied territory. According to a press release, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, while dismissing the report as another outrageous attempt by India at political gerrymandering, said that by redrawing electoral boundaries blatantly favouring the Hindu-dominated constituencies, the so-called “Delimitation Commission” has validated the worst fears of the Kashmiri people that the BJP government sought to disempower and disenfranchise them by altering the demographic structure of the IIOJ&K with a view to converting the Muslim majority into a minority.

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/957323-bilawal-to-leave-for-us-on-16th

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#Pakistan #PPP - Expectations from Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari

 Hassan Khan

After much trepidation, it appears, that Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has taken up the challenging role as the new Foreign Minister of Pakistan. That is almost six decades after his illustrious grandfather became the foreign minister to begin a transformative political career in earnest. Credited with lending a new direction to Pakistan’s foreign policy, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto made his mark for eternity during his years at Scheherazade. Does Bilawal have similar capacity and aspirations?

While it may be too early to form a definitive opinion, so far this is not evident by any changes that may have been brought about. A Foreign Office bruised and battered by the “cablegate scandal” on the one hand and a mediocre, non-imaginative leadership on the other stands demoralised, dishevelled and despondent with not much capacity for robust diplomacy in any direction.

Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi had kept an iron grip on the institution to use it to pursue his own political ambitions, in the process stifling it to the point that it lost all relevance in the national scheme of things other than being his handmaiden.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/934002/expectations-from-bilawal-bhutto-zardari/

China calls for ‘resolute’ action from Pakistan against terror attacks on Chinese nationals

 

• Chinese foreign minister urges Pakistani counterpart to ensure thorough probe into deadly Karachi attack claimed by Baloch insurgents.
• Analyst tells of frustration on the Chinese side that Pakistan seems unable to bring such attacks under control.
• China has called on Pakistan to help take “resolute and effective measures” immediately against attacks targeting Chinese nationals on its soil. The call from Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi came during a virtual meeting with Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, just weeks after a deadly suicide bombing outside a Confucius Institute in Karachi.Security for Chinese nationals, projects and institutions in Pakistan needed to be tightened and security loopholes plugged to avoid similar attacks in the future, Wang told Bhutto Zardari, according to a Chinese read-out of the meeting.

Wednesday’s meeting was the first between the foreign ministers after three Confucius Institute staff members and their Pakistani driver were killed in a suicide attack on their van at the University of Karachi on April 26.

Persistent terror attacks have troubled Pakistani projects carried out under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, including Gwadar port in the poor but resource-rich Balochistan province.The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist insurgent group from the province, claims the projects exploit the province’s minerals and extend China’s influence in the region.The BLA also took responsibility for last month’s Karachi bombing. The group said it attacked the van to make clear that a “direct or indirect Chinese presence in Balochistan is not tolerated”.

At the meeting with Bhutto Zardari, Wang reiterated China’s call for a thorough probe into the attack. “It is imperative to speed up the investigation, find the culprits and punish them severely, as soon as possible,” he said. The Pakistani minister vowed to work with China to combat terrorism in his country. “Condemning the terrorist attack in Karachi University in which three Chinese teachers lost their lives, the foreign minister underlined Pakistan’s firm resolve to apprehend the perpetrators and bring them to justice,” a Pakistani foreign ministry statement said.

China has invested heavily in Pakistan through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – a series of road, rail and energy projects worth US$60 billion that form the main plank of its belt and road plans in the country.

“There is frustration on the Chinese side that Pakistan seems unable to bring [the attacks] under control,” said Raffaello Pantucci, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.“You can see that in the escalating rhetoric around each incident that we see emanate from the Chinese government.”

In 2018, the BLA’s armed attackers stormed the Chinese consulate in Karachi and killed four people, none of them Chinese. Afterwards the foreign ministry asked Pakistan to ensure the safety of Chinese nationals there.In August last year, the BLA claimed it had carried out a suicide bombing that targeted Chinese people in Gwadar, killing two children and injuring a Chinese national, prompting a request from China’s embassy for Pakistan to “speed up the upgrading of security policies” to prevent another attack.Pantucci said the attack against the Confucius Institute staff members showed the BLA was no longer just targeting Chinese nationals involved with CPEC projects, which are protected by around 15,000 Pakistani troops.

China could share intelligence and provide equipment to help protect Chinese nationals in Pakistan, he said, adding that China’s attempt to stabilise Balochistan by investing in the province had not been effective.Wang Dehua, a Shanghai-based analyst on South Asia, said China could also send security advisers to improve vigilance, but would not need to send troops, because Islamabad was still determined to tackle the issue. He said he had experienced Pakistan’s resolve during a group visit to Gwadar port. “The Pakistani side used armoured cars to protect us when we visited the port. So, to Chinese experts, the protection was very adequate.”Pakistan’s newly anointed prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has taken a personal interest in the case, according to interior minister Rana Sanaullah who updated Pang Chunxue, China’s representative in Islamabad, about the progress of the investigation on Tuesday.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3177532/china-calls-resolute-action-pakistan-against-terror-attacks

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#Pakistan - Imran Khan’s dangerous narrative

By Samina Yasmeen

It could further weaken a Pakistan increasingly divided along ethnic, religious, and sectarian lines, between supporters and opponents of jihad, and between the exceptionally rich and poor masses.

In the hands of a master narrator, carefully crafted narratives, that employ easily understandable and culturally relevant symbols and stories, can mobilise individuals and groups for particular causes. The recently-deposed Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, is trying to establish himself as a master narrator who can mobilise the masses despite his failure to improve the economy and living standards of 220 million Pakistanis. Economic mismanagement, rising inflation, and the concentration of power in the hands of a select few had dissipated support from his erstwhile backers in the military. In response, Khan is crafting a narrative that his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), can deploy to mobilise the masses.

The narrative focuses on the dichotomy between Pakistan’s ideal and current state. The ideal state is presented as one designed along the lines of the first Islamic state established by Prophet Mohammad in Medina in 622 AD. Pakistan’s failure to secure a respected status in the international community since the 1960s is contrasted with the progress made by India which became independent at the same time — New Delhi has earned respect for its refusal to compromise on national interest. The heavy criticism levelled against Khan for his visit to Moscow at a time Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine is presented as evidence. US and European envoys criticised and demanded that Pakistan, notably Imran Khan, not side with Russia. On the other hand, the Indian success story meant that the Narendra Modi government withstood external pressure and asserted its right to purchase oil from Russia at the height of the Ukraine conflict.Khan portrays corrupt and self-serving Pakistani politicians as obstacles on the path toward true independence. He blames them for pushing Pakistan into a subservient relationship with Western powers. They have pursued conflicting policies, siding with the West to push the Soviets out of Afghanistan in the 1980s and then joining hands with the US to invade and occupy the same country in the War on Terror. The Pakistani media is also incriminated for joining hands with the country’s rulers to prevent Pakistan from realising its true potential.

The portrayal of the ruling elite as willing accomplices of the West in exploiting and subjugating the Pakistani people resembles a neo-Marxist analysis of the world system. “Core” states exploit those at the “periphery” in an exploitative yet collaborative relationship with the ruling elite of the peripheral states.

Rival political parties that collaborated to oust Khan’s regime through a no-confidence vote are accused of working at the behest of the Western powers, especially the United States. The former PM has alleged that the US Assistant Secretary of State, Donald Lu, had warned of severe consequences for US-Pakistan relations if he stayed in power. Echoing the Gramscian idea of a counter-hegemonic struggle to create a new historical bloc, Khan has called upon ordinary Pakistanis to become activists in thwarting the collaboration between the corrupt politicians and the US. The newly-appointed prime minister and his coalition partners are labelled an “imported government” lacking legitimacy and requiring a response from those who stand for independence, integrity, and fairness. The Pakistani youth, which comprises 60 per cent of the country’s population, is allocated pride of place in this schema: They are urged to think about the future they expect and deserve despite all the machinations of the corrupt politicians and the imported government.

Khan has delivered this narrative in simple language easily understood by the masses in a country with a literacy rate of just 60 per cent. He has portrayed himself as a selfless individual who did not need to be in politics but struggled for more than two decades to secure true independence for Pakistan and international respect for it. Repeated by other members of his cabinet and the PTI, this narrative has proved successful. Overnight, those complaining of economic mismanagement and rising inflation have come out on the streets declaring their support for Khan as the true leader and rejecting the “imported government”.

However, this narrative is fraught with danger for Pakistan. It runs the risk of further weakening the cohesion of a society increasingly divided along ethnic, religious, and sectarian lines, between supporters and opponents of jihad, and between the exceptionally rich and poor masses. The defiance narrative is dividing the country between supporters and opponents of Imran Khan — and by extension the PTI. Equally concerning is the fast-emerging public anger against the military and the judiciary as “collaborators” in ousting Khan as the PM. This anger was apparent in responses to a tweet from DG ISPR about the successful launch of the Shaheen III missile on April 9. Congratulatory messages were interspersed with extremely critical assessments of the military’s role and capability to thwart Pakistan’s real threats. According to some reports, dissenting voices are also emerging within the military, insisting on Khan’s narrative as the guiding principle for Pakistan. If the fate of narratives employed by jihadi groups is any indication, once a message has been delivered to an audience, some among the audience attach their own meanings to the message and the ensuing activism does not necessarily correlate to the intended aims of the master narrator(s). Khan’s narrative could also motivate some groups to resort to actions with far-reaching implications for civil-military relations and Pakistan’s stability.

https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/imran-khan-power-pakistan-politics-economy-7914389/

Bilawal Bhutto says PTI minister threatened him on eve of no-trust vote

 

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari Thursday revealed a PTI minister had threatened him with the imposition of martial law a night before the no-confidence motion against ex-prime minister Imran Khan was passed.

In his address to the National Assembly, Bilawal told the house that the PTI minister asked him to either accept early elections or martial law would be imposed in the country.

The foreign minister said that despite PTI's repeated attempts to defeat the no-confidence motion against the former premier, their bids were foiled and the no-trust vote was successful.

Bilawal then demanded an investigation into the events leading up to and post the no-confidence motion that led to former prime minister Imran Khan's ouster.

Ex-deputy speaker Qasim Suri had termed the no-trust motion against Khan "unconstitutional" and dismissed it on April 3, and following this, the then-prime minister advised President Arif Alvi to dissolve the assemblies and he followed suit.

But the then-Opposition filed a plea in the Supreme Court seeking the nullification of the government's move. The top court then on April 7, declared the government's decision to dissolve the assembly and Suri's ruling against the constitution.

The SC had asked to hold the voting on the no-confidence motion on April 9, but Khan had the speaker prolong the session. But near midnight, the speaker resigned from office.

Being the senior member of the panel of chairs, PML-N MNA Ayaz Sadiq chaired a session on early April 10 and held the voting no-confidence motion which ultimately led to Khan's ouster.

High-level committee should probe matter: Bilawal

"This house must form a high-level parliamentary commission or committee to investigate the events leading up to April 3, post-April 3, of the night of April 9 and 10, and the events that have taken place to date after [the no-confidence motion was successful]," Bilawal said on the floor of the National Assembly.

The PPP chairman said the "attacks on the constitution and the house" should be taken seriously, and an investigation should be held to determine who was at fault.

"Even the Supreme Court termed the previous government's acts of April 3 as unconstitutional. In the way that the former government tried to escape from the challenge of the no-confidence motion, it was unconstitutional and the people of Pakistan demand accountability," he added.

Bilawal said the acts of undermining the constitution had taken place in the past as well and the parliament remained mum on it, therefore, these events should be investigated.

Bilawal emphasised that PPP was never in the favour of political engineering and noted that his party's demand still stands that first electoral reforms should take place, and general elections should be held after them.

"We are a democratic force and demand transparent elections. We had earlier demanded that electoral reforms should take place first. This is PPP's clear stance," Bilawal said.

'Situation in Pakistan is at crisis point'

Berating Khan, he said the former prime minister should be asked about his performance during his tenure, he should be questioned about the economy, and how his "ego" damaged Pakistan internationally, in a reference to the PTI chairman's alleged US threat.

"The former prime minister thinks he is a 'sacred cow' as he is currently speaking against the constitution, national security, and economic stability," the foreign minister said.

The PPP chairman said the government left a mess in terms of the economy as it has left sugar, wheat, and energy crises for the incumbent government.

"Wherever we see, there is a crisis [...] the conditions are even worst than we had thought when we were in the Opposition. The situation in Pakistan is at a crisis point — there should be no difference of opinion in this regard," Bilawal said.

Resolution passed condemning Indian actions in IOJK

In other matters of business, the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution denouncing the latest Indian attempt for demographic engineering in occupied Jammu and Kashmir through a so-called "delimitation commission".

The foreign minister had moved the resolution, which stated that India aims to artificially alter the electoral strength of the Muslim majority in occupied Kashmir.

Noting that the commission’s recommendations have been rejected by a cross-section of political parties in the occupied region, the resolution categorically rejected the report of the so-called delimitation commission that seeks to convert the Muslim majority territory into minority and further marginalise, disenfranchise, and disempower the Kashmiri population and advance the political and electoral objectives of the BJP.

The resolution noted that through the delimitation exercise, India is making attempts to further its illegal actions of 5th August 2019 and subsequent measures.

The resolution recalled that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised dispute and a long-standing item on the agenda of the UN Security Council.

It declared that no façade of elections based on a sham delimitation exercise can substitute the legitimacy and indispensability of a free and impartial plebiscite under the auspices of the UN.

The resolution demanded that India should honour and fulfil its obligations under international law, UNSC resolutions, and the fourth Geneva Convention, whilst refraining from bringing about any illegal demographic changes in the occupied territory.

It urged the Indian government to forthwith end its oppression and widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in IIOJK and enable the Kashmiri people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination as enshrined in the Security Council resolutions.

The resolution called upon the international community to ensure accountability for India’s grave and persistent violations of human rights and war crimes in IOJK.

The resolution reiterated Pakistan’s unflinching commitment and solidarity with Kashmiri, reaffirming that Pakistan will continue to extend all possible support in their just struggle for freedom and self-determination.

It also asked the government to continue to expose and counter the Indian moves before the international community and to highlight and forcefully project the Kashmir cause at all bilateral and multilateral forums including the UN and the OIC.

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