In a blistering attack (May 6) on his political opponents, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan, strongly criticized Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for their foreign trips amid what he described the ongoing the country’s current crises. Prime Minister Shehbaz is was in the UK for the coronation of King Charles III while Foreign Minister Bilawal visited India to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Council (SCO) of Foreign Ministers. Bilawal Bhutto’s visit to India is seen as a spoiler in the further deteriorating Indo-Pakistan relations dampening any positive prospects.
Imran Khan further reckoned that Pakistan is being humiliated in the world as seen from the Indian Foreign Minister’s behavior when Bilawal went to India and it is a shame for all Pakistanis. Imran also questioned what benefit was gained from the India trip with the kind of language that Bilawal received from his Indian counterpart.
It may be reiterated that India’s Minister for External Affairs SJaishankar, in his remarks at the SCO meet, had said terrorism in all its forms, including cross-border terrorism, must be stopped in a candid and unambiguous reference to Pakistan, who also believed that there could be no justification for terrorism and it must be stopped comprehensively, including cross-border terrorism. Later, he also charged that Pakistan whole heartedly backed terrorists in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, there have been widespread reactions in Pakistan over the Indian External Affairs Minister’s remarks. Senior PTI leader Dr Shireen Mazari tweeted that earlier Bajwa,& now the Progressive Democratic Movement (PDM) want Pakistan to appease India. He described as unbelievable absurdity of Bajwa plan which was now being carried forward by the PDM. In other words, Bilawal’s visit has drawn huge flak from his adversaries and others alike.On the other hand, Myra MacDonald, noted journalist and author on the two countries including one on the Siachen dispute, was sympathetic to India’s grievances about terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
According to official US sources, while India and Pakistan did not hold any bilateral talks on the sidelines of SCOForeign Ministers’ meeting, their sparring at a multilateral stage has nevertheless underlined the need for South Asia’s two nuclear powers at least to stay engaged with each other.
Significantly, US scholar of South Asian affairs, Michael Kugelman of the Wilson Center, Washington, remarked in a tweet that while there was much criticism of the Pakistan Foreign Minister’s visit to India for SCO, he appears to have accomplished what Islamabad had sought.He defined Pakistan’s goals as participation in the SCO deliberations, and separate sideline meetings with all SCO members except India. He described comments by the Pakistani and Indian Foreign Ministers as “pedestrian stuff”, normal for (such relationships and mostly targeting domestic audiences). He, however, felt that this development will have no impact on India-Pak ties.
On his part, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari claimed (May 5) his trip to India as a “success”, saying that the “false propaganda” of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that every Muslim was a terrorist had been negated. The Foreign Minister made these remarks upon his return to Pakistan from India, where he spoke at the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers. Jaishankar had said Bilawal’s address revealed the mindset of that country. “His position was found out and called out”. Whatever, the Bilawal incident did not augur well in light of the prevailing Indo-Pak relations which are already very low with no signs of any amelioration.
In a not altogether separate development, Pakistan FM Bilawal Zardari Bhutto met (May 06 at Islamabad),his Afghanistan counterpart upon return. This could possibly signal Pakistan’s fresh attempts to reach out to Taliban regime in Kabul and send a message to India about new Pak-Afghanistan proximity. This is more because Pakistan has been eying with suspicion of a growing thaw in the relationship between India and Afghanistan amid Pakistan’s misplaced apprehensions that all terror attacks on the Pakistan soil particularly in Peshawar and Karachi, allegedly carried out by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were at the behest of India. Further, very recently, China, Pakistan and Afghanistan have jointly affirmed (May 6 at Islamabad) their commitment expressing support to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
This is taken seriously because of the Chinese initiative particularly in view of its recent diplomatic offensive in broking peace between Saudi Arabia & Iran. This new realignment has raised hopes between Pakistan &Afghanistan. This said, the recent snub to Bilawal in the SCO and Pakistan’s continued sponsoring of cross border terrorism is a clear indication that there is very remote possibility of any improvement in the Indo-Pak equation, at least in the near future. Either way, Bilawal Bhutto, his political leadership, and his own coterie may have to endure considerable time before it recovers from the recent drubbing.
Shantanu Mukharji is a
retired IPS officer and a
former National Security
Advisor in Mauritius.
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