Undoubtedly, foreign tours by the heads of the State and the federal government are essential for promoting bilateral relations and further strengthening and promoting ties with friendly countries around the globle.
Over the decades, this has been happening with varying frequency periodically. Founder of the Nation Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the first Governor General of the newly born country. He remained in office till his untimely demise due to persisting illness, which he preferred to hide from the people, just after being in the office for very little more than a year. To the best of knowledge of this scribe, he had not visited any foreign country as the Governor General.
The trusted lieutenant of the Quaid-i-Azam, Liaquat Ali Khan, was Pakistan’s first Prime Minister and it was he who had undertaken a foreign tour. According to the reports, he was flying to Moscow on a visit to the USSR and had got his aircraft diverted to Washington, USA, imid-way, for some unforeseen reasons.
Quite obviously such initiatives which PM Shehbaz Sharif continues to take through his frequent visits are surely a positive reminder to all that diplomacy as and when pursued honestly, committedly and sincerely remains one of the most potent tools for progress and understanding in today’s world which was increasingly being divided by conflicts and crises to say the least ,please. Undoubtedly, the foreign tours are essential for promoting bilateral relations and enlisting support for the country’s stance on regional and international issues. but it will be more appreciable and commendable if the parliament was invariably taken into confidence after each foreign visit regarding the expected benefits and gains for the country in the coming months
Quite obviously, the Heads of State and the government who followed afterwards had also been visiting different countries though no record of such foreign tours was available somehow. This scribe will now be mentioning briefly the foreign tours by Pakistani leaders starting from the early years of the 21st century on the basis of available information.
Gen Pervez Musharraf was the fourth military head of the country after Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan, Gen Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan and Gen Mohammad Ziaul Haq.
General Musharraf had visited the most friendly neighbouring country China and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, formerly senior executive of the Citibank, had been to Britain and Jordan one after the other during the first quarter of 2006.Both the President and the PM had then termed their latest foreign tours as very successful and which would go a long way in further strengthening and improving Pakistan’s relations with China, Britain and Jordan.
General Musharraf, who had come into power in October 1999 by overthrowing the elected civilian Nawaz government, had visited a number of countries as the Chief Executive (while exercising the powers of the Prime Minister) and later on as the President. As his foreign visits multiplied, it was then said that you name any country around the globe and General Musharraf would have visited it at least once or maybe more for promoting Pakistan’s economic ties with the world capitals and to project the soft image of the country by advocating enlightened moderation.
It was also reported then that in all fairness General Musharraf had earned the distinction of visiting the most number of countries as the Chief Executive / President than all the previous Heads of the State during till the last five decades. General Musharraf had visited the USA at least once every year after assuming the power. Besides the USA, he had visited New Zealand, Australia, Qatar, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, Mexico, Italy, Holland, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, South Korea, China, Malaysia and many other countries. Both the then President and the Prime Minister had been to the USA many a time. The USA in general and the occupants of the White House in particular were the benefactors of the Pakistani rulers over the years.
Industrialist-turned politician from Lahore Nawaz Sharif had also been visiting the USA and other countries during all three of his tenures. Some media reports said that Nawaz Sharif held the record of undertaking more than 70 foreign visits while he was in power, including more than one visit to a number of countries which were not being mentioned here for want of space.
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf had visited six countries at least during his short stint as the PM while Syed Yousuf Razal Gilani had visited Germany, the UK, Libya, Sri Lanka, Egypt, China, Nepal, Bhutan, Oman, Belgium, Tajikistan, Afghanistan. Turkey and Switzerland.
Cutting a long story short , the incumbent Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif with his latest visit to Cairo, Egypt , for attending the 11th summit of the Developing Eight (D -8) on the theme “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs; Shaping Tomorrows’ Economy” had undertaken 39 foreign visits during his two tenures so far.
Whether one agrees with the frequency of these foreign trips, it was surely and certainly because PM Shehbaz Sharif was not leaving no stone unturned in presenting Pakistan as an active and willing partner on the world stage as a developing country, with the developed countries around the globe. Such moments of his interaction with more and more world leaders
at the international forums and gatherings cannot simply be dismissed as merely ceremonial as these hold quite deeper significance and importance, telling the world at large that Pakistan was willing to engage in regional cooperation with a sense of urgency and purpose., As such, his latest foreign visit to Cairo, Egypt, was not merely another entry in a long list of diplomatic tours.. It was a concerted effort on his part to position Pakistan as a proactive player in addressing shared challenges and exploring new opportunities
Quite obviously such initiatives which PM Shehbaz Sharif continues to take through his frequent visits are surely a positive reminder to all that diplomacy as and when pursued honestly, committedly and sincerely remains one of the most potent tools for progress and understanding in today’s world which was increasingly being divided by conflicts and crises to say the least ,please. Undoubtedly, the foreign tours are essential for promoting bilateral relations and enlisting support for the country’s stance on regional and international issues. but it will be more appreciable and commendable if the parliament was invariably taken into confidence after each foreign visit regarding the expected benefits and gains for the country in the coming months.
