- PTI short of new ideas
Prime Minister Imran Khan took up the issue of Kashmir with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Pakistan succeeded in calling a consultative session of the United Nations Security Council on Kashmir. National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri raised the issue at the South Asian Speakers’ summit in the Maldives. Mr Khan called on Pakistanis to devote half an hour every Friday for a display of solidarity with the people of occupied Kashmir. He meanwhile rang up several heads of government and those who matter, including the British PM, the Saudi and UAE crown princes and the King of Jordan to ask them to condemn the illegal annexation. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmud Qureshi tried to talk to every Foreign Minister who was willing to take his phone call, the latest being his counterpart in Iceland. Success however is not measured by the efforts made but by results.
In his simplicity, Mr Khan failed to realize that President Trump was leading him down the garden path when he promised to mediate between India and Pakistan. Mr Trump now maintains that the Kashmir issue should be resolved by the two countries bilaterally. The UNSC failed to issue any statement supporting Pakistan’s position or even reiterating its previous resolutions on Kashmir. The Male declaration too didn’t take note of Pakistan’s concerns about Kashmir. The British Prime Minister, the Saudi and UAE crown princes and the King of Jordan haven’t said a word condemning Indian actions in Kashmir.
While Mr Qureshi thinks Pakistan is not isolated on the Kashmir issue, the fact is that only China and Turkey have so far condemned India’s annexation of the Valley. A perception is growing that the government’s efforts are aimed at solely convincing the people of Pakistan that it has worked hard for Kashmir. What many had expected was that Mr Khan would win the major powers’ support against the annexation and persuade them to condemn Indian atrocities.
Imran Khan had claimed he understood the Western mind and would succeed in convincing important capitals of the need to redress the Kashmiris’ grievances. Has the PTI leadership run short of ideas? If this is the case, there is no harm seeking the help of foreign policy pontiffs in the opposition.