Russian President Vladimir Putin once said in his interview with a private news channel, “Even a refusal to any American company from any other country is considered a threat to US National Interests.”
Now, one can realize what the Pakistani government has done by saying “Absolutely not” to the United States on its request for military bases for future operations in Afghanistan. For Americans, it is a blunder made against Washington’s national interests.
Another blunder was made by Islamabad when the Prime Minister of Pakistan Mr. Imran Khan visited Russia despite pressure from the Western world not to visit Moscow. Now the government under Prime Minister Imran Khan is saying that foreign hands are hatching conspiracies for regime change in Pakistan.
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This entire scenario reminds everyone of the regime change of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Mr. Bhutto in his book “If I am assassinated “ mentioned the American conspiracies against him and his government for not bowing to their whims. And finally, the recorded history shows how the Bhutto regime ended.
It is a point of concern why and how foreign hands get easy access to the internal affairs of a country? It also raises the question that for how long Islamabad will be under the influence of powerful countries?
Don’t we frequently hear about India’s Independent Foreign Policy? Even Bangladesh is independent in its foreign policy.
Is this because both are economically healthy countries or maybe their political leaders are more sincere in their national interests? Indeed, sincere and honest political leaders are one of the reasons behind this.
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Late Sushma Swaraj (Former Indian Foreign Minister of India) once warned Washington to avoid interference in bilateral relations between New Delhi and Tehran over Chabahar Port. Even Bangladesh refused to take any direction from India over Dhakas’s joining of CPEC.
The importance of sincere leadership
It was thought after the episodes of “ Absolutely Not”, the PM’s visit to Russia, and even after the policy shift from “Geo-strategic to Geo-Economic” that Pakistan is moving independently without any influence of foreign hands. However, many senior analysts wrote and said that it would be difficult for Islamabad to move like that. A vote of no confidence in the National Assembly against Prime Minister Imran Khan may be a practical manifestation of their views.
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Given the evidence available, no honorable, God-fearing and devoted Pakistani will stand in defense of any conspiracy against the current government. It would be wise to call for an in-depth analysis of our entire political system to find out a workable solution. Taking sincere measures and patriotism are the only ways to get out of this mess. Leaders from the political edifice and military establishment must take steps in the right direction to take the country forward. There should be a broad consensus across the political spectrum on this issue.
The writer is a law graduate and researcher on international relations and Pakistan’s strategic culture. The views expressed in the article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.