- Foreign policy under PM Khan
A perception is growing that the PM chooses a foreign policy task, calls it crucial, then fails to fulfil it. Instead of giving thought to why he failed and devising a new approach to achieve the aim, he takes up another goal as the most important one for Pakistan and again misses the target. There is therefore little worthwhile that the PTI government can call its foreign policy achievement during the last 15 months.
Some of the priorities announced by the PM were no more than good wishes that could not have materialised under the prevailing circumstances. With his facile approach to issues Mr Khan did not take into account the complexities underlying regional disputes. He also failed to realise that the tail cannot wag the dog. A couple of meetings with the Saudi Crown Prince and a visit to Iran led him to believe that with the help of advisors like Zulfi Bukhari, he could play a peacemaker’s role in the Middle East. He also thought he could bring an end to the Yemen war. When snubbed, the issues were removed from his priority list. The PM told US think tanks that improvement of ties with India and settlement of the conflict in Afghanistan are top foreign policy priorities for his government. In September Kashmir became his priority and he promised to act as Kashmir’s ambassador. After the failure of the Middle East gambit, and a few speeches on Kashmir, the PM announced on Thursday that Africa would henceforth be the new focus of the country’s foreign policy.
With Imran Khan blaming PML-N government of corruption in all financial deals brokered with foreign countries, a couple of PTI leaders made statements about CPEC that created grave misunderstandings with China. It took quite a few months and a lot of effort by the establishment to restore mutual confidence. Marked by tensions earlier, Pak-US relations improved marginally after July’s Imran-Trump meeting in Washington. The PTI government however failed to efficiently address FATF related issues leading the USA to maintain economic pressure on Pakistan. PM Khan can have a more realistic foreign policy if he improves working relations with the opposition and get the issues debated in Parliamentary committees.
