Increasing international
criticism for allowing terrorists to use its soil to perpetrate terror in other
countries has forced Pakistan to do some introspection finally it seems. The
country is going to hold from tomorrow a three day meet of selected Pakistani
envoys from countries like US, India, Russia and China to deliberate over the
issue.
According to Radio Pakistan,
the meet is being organized to brainstorm on important foreign policy issues
and "the participants will discuss potential strength of the foreign
policy and options available in view of the geo-political and regional
situation."
A Pakistan Today report
further added that the decision to hold the meet has been taken in the "wake
of the strain in diplomatic relations between Pakistan and the US following the
strong-worded speech by US President Donald Trump."
While unveiling his
government's Afghanistan centric South Asia policy last month, US President
Donald Trump had called Pakistan again a safe haven for terrorists, had slammed
it for its supporting terrorists and had sought to increase India's role in
Afghanistan.
Before it, Modi-Trump Joint
Statement in June also called Pakistan a safe haven for terrorists and term made
its way to the US Country Report on Terrorism the next month. Trump's warning
to Pakistan tells how miffed he is with the country. While detailing his South
Asia policy, Trump slammed Pakistan and warned that the US will no longer be
silent about Pakistan’s double-dealings. He demanded that Pakistan's attitude
of doublespeak had to change immediately.
The meet that is being
organized in Islamabad will be inaugurated and chaired by Pakistan's Foreign
Minister Khawaja Asif while the country's prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
will chair its concluding session.
The latest in the series of
setbacks to Pakistan came from an unexpected quarter, China, its all-weather
ally. The 9th BRICS Summit, that is being held in Chinese city Xiamen and is
being chaired by China, issued a Summit Declaration that openly named and
shamed Pakistan based terror groups like LeT, JeM, Haqqani Network and TTP, a
first in BRICS history.
Though the BRICS Summit
Declaration is not expected to bring any change in China's stand on Pakistan
sponsored terror that has firmly stood behind Pakistan going as far as blocking
the UN sanctioning of terrorists like JeM chief Masood Azhar, this is an
important change given the fact that China had successfully resisted inclusion
of Pakistan based terror groups in the last BRICS Summit Declaration in Goa. And
even after the Summit Declaration, China sounded evasive when questioned for
its stand of Masood Azhar.
Also, just before the BRICS
Summit, the spokesperson of China's Foreign Ministry had asserted that BRICS
was not an appropriate forum to discuss Pakistan's counter-terrorism record.
©SantoshChaubey
