Conference of selected Pakistani envoys begins today

ISLAMABAD: A three-day conference of selected Pakistani envoys will begin here on Tuesday for brainstorming on the important foreign policy issues.

According to details, the participants will discuss potential strengths of the foreign policy and options available in view of the current geopolitical and regional situation. The concluding session of the conference would be chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.

In wake of the strain in diplomatic relations between Pakistan and United States of America (US) following the strong-worded speech by US President Donald Trump, the federal government had decided to hold envoys’ conference to review the country’s foreign policy.

A source in the Ministry Of Foreign Affairs had told Pakistan Today in August that the envoy’s conference was likely to be held from September 5 to 7, and it will be chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Khwaja Asif. Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was likely to chair the conference on the final day of the moot.

According to details, there would be briefings by various diplomats and other officials from related departments/ministries during the conference. Among the possible attendees would be the country’s envoys in US, China, India, Russia, Turkey and some western countries.

The official had also brushed aside the notion of panic in the government circles following the US policy announcement on South Asia, saying that the conference was a permanent feature which also was held last year in August.

“Don’t be strayed with the timing of the US policy review. It’s a permanent feature and we do it almost every year in August,” the official had asserted. Asked what led to the widening gulf between Pakistan and US, another official in the ministry said the misunderstandings grew with the US assertion to help settle Afghanistan as per their plan.

The official had said that it was wrong to claim that Pakistan took the US policy review as a shocker, saying we knew it was coming. “We knew how things were developing in Washington and this is why we have been engaging the US officials at different levels to convey Pakistan’s concerns and viewpoints,” the source said.

The official also added that the US had taken critical decisions without consulting Pakistan, which was unfair on their part as Islamabad kept Washington in the loop.

The conference comes amid a growing diplomatic crisis following Donald Trump’s anti-Pakistan diatribe, accusing Pakistan of harbouring terrorists and calling for increased Indian involvement in Afghanistan.