Maleeha Hashmey |
Foreign policy is precisely the reflection of domestic policy in a broader perspective. The key to the successful formulation and implementation of an effective foreign policy is good governance at home – a great deal of it has got to do with the historical circumstances, the lessons derived out of them and how exactly people tend to perceive it.
Pakistan, amidst all of its socio-economic and political challenges at hand, has suffered a great deal of unfortunate isolation and lack of existence on the global political canvas owing to having a dysfunctional foreign office with zero productivity over the past four years. Recently, the country had a change of hands in the power corridors as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf got elected as the ruling party toward the end of July 2018.
Pakistan is going to be a significant part of the tri-lateral dialogue among Afghanistan, China and Pakistan – which is scheduled to take place in Kabul next month.
From national exchequer to the structural and operational framework of state-owned institutions, there was a bleak picture all over the place and PTI-led Government, for a moment there, looked absolutely startled and confused as to where, to begin with. Interestingly, Pakistan’s Foreign Office was the first office to have been visited by the newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan.
The challenges were tough but the man in the driving seat looked even tougher. One after another, the nascent Government started grappling with all of the challenges coming its way. As they wrestled with the mighty challenges, it was difficult to guess if the naysayers’ negative commentary all along was more troublesome or the pending issues at hand. Some issues got dealt with effectively and some made them realize that the road to perfection was way longer than they ever expected.
Foreign Ministry has been one of the best result-yielding ministries, so far, in the first 100 days of the incumbent Government.
Read more: PTI wins its first round – Maleeha Hashmey
Here’s what I found out about what the Ministry has been up to and how the Foreign Minister views the international political scenario and the expected way forward, on GNN Special last night where a renowned senior Anchorperson & political analyst interviewed Pakistan’s Foreign Minister – Shah Mehmood Qureshi in the Foreign Office Library.
Dr. Moeed Pirzada threw some very interesting and sharp queries Minister Qureshi’s way – on domestic policy and international political strategy of the Government and how the Government planned on redefining Pakistan’s image on global canvas and how exactly the plan for strengthening Pakistan’s ties with its neighbours and superpowers of the world was shaping up and overall regional political dynamics – to which the Minister responded in an equally eloquent and comprehensive manner which was reflective of how the second-time in the same driving seat – Minister – was passionately on his way to achieve his goals and put his skills to perfect use.
Let’s see how the Government performs in the days to come and if it will be able to live up to its promise of creating 10 Million employment opportunities & build 5 Million houses.
I’m penning down the key points that I was able to put together out of the whole intelligent discussion;
- The Foreign Minister looked confident about his performance so far, and upon being asked on his achievements in the first 100 days, he mentioned as to how effectively the Government had been successful in re-engaging with the key players, like UAE & Saudi Arabia on a whole new level. $1 Billion aid from Saudi Arabia had been received and a lot more financial assistance was in the pipeline. Though it’s not looked kindly to by the whole world – neither does Pakistan take pride in extending its palm to other countries but it was the need of the hour to exercise all other options, in addition to IMF, for the country to breathe and survive economically. It will be for the 19th time that the country will be knocking at IMF’s door. He hoped that from now onwards, things will change for better
- The recent terrorist attack on Chinese consulate was highly regrettable and it was part of the conspiracies and heinous attempts carried out by the enemies of the soil to destabilize and destroy the peace process in Pakistan – sometimes in the form of PTM, sometimes in the form of BLA – but deep down inside everyone knew who was the mastermind behind the multiple incidents induced to create unrest and anarchy in the region to shape up a certain narrative against Pakistan. He assured that the Government was determined to deal with them all with iron hands. India was seen to put in great effort to strategically equate Balochistan & Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (previously known as Province Sirhad) with Occupied Kashmir – where we knew that Balochistan and KP had been ignored in terms of being deprived of their provincial rights provision and other domestic issues but nothing of it could even slightly be materialized as the General Elections’ 18 had shown Pashtuns entrusting PTI with a magnanimous TWO-THIRD majority, authorizing them to re-govern the province KP. As for Balochistan, their regional grievances were being deliberated upon and would be resolved for sure. Pakistan is incomplete without the beautiful Balochistan
- American President, Donald Trump VS Prime Minister, Imran Khan recent Twitter scuffle, reminded Dr. Moeed Pirzada of the cold October evening back in 2011 when the weather was cold but Pak-US ties were warm and cordial. That evening the then Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi & US Foreign Secretary, Hilary Clinton gleefully discussed the 13 Strategic Dialogue Groups. The interviewer wondered if those times could rewalk through between Pakistan and USA, especially after the recent Twitter tirade. The Foreign Minister explained in detail as to how the power dynamics had changed over the past seven years and China had emerged as a key economic giant, turning into USA’s biggest trade competitor and that Pakistan’s close ties with China must have pushed the USA to further strengthen their ties with the enemy of the enemy. Though no word is final in politics, so people shouldn’t be surprised to see Pakistan mending fences with anyone and everyone for the betterment of the country
- Pakistan is going to be a significant part of the tri-lateral dialogue among Afghanistan, China and Pakistan – which is scheduled to take place in Kabul next month. Pakistan has played a pivotal role in bringing stability in Afghanistan and as the Prime Minister, Imran Khan, has been reiterating for years that peace in Pakistan is impossible without peace in Afghanistan
- The most interesting part was when the Foreign Minister couldn’t keep himself from bringing in the infamous “U-turn” in the discussion and explained that life and circumstances always demand one to strategically retrospect, rethink, recalculate, redesign and reformulate the way forward if the already executed one doesn’t serve the purpose
- Toward the end, Shah Ji assured the viewers that Pakistan will never make any hidden deals with any country, just for the sake of temporary political mileage. Pakistan belongs to the opposition parties as much as it does to the Government and the day is not far when Pakistan will be amongst the top leaders of the world, where people will drop in, seeking employment opportunities, Insha Allah.
That’s all for now. Let’s see how the Government performs in the days to come and if it will be able to live up to its promise of creating 10 Million employment opportunities & build 5 Million houses. Just so you know, the world famous Pindi boy – the swagger boy, Sheikh Rasheed has not only turned the stale railway sector into a profit-making arena but also created 10,000 jobs in the said zone. Much wow!
Read more: India, not Pakistan, is US strategic ally: Pakistan Foreign Minister
Hope you liked my review of one of the most interesting interviews of the eloquent Foreign Minister with GNN. Pakistan Zindabad!
Maleeha Hashmey is a corporate trainer, motivational speaker, socio-political enthusiast and human resource development consultant by profession. She has been working with the telecommunication sector as a corporate trainer. She has been working with the Ministry of Education, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as a Human Resource Development Consultant & Teacher Trainer. Her dream is to make Pakistan a stronger economic state that the whole world views as a force to reckon with. She can be followed on Twitter via her Twitter handle @MaleehaHashmey. The views expressed in this article are author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Global Village Space.