*ISLAMABAD: *Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi’s unnanouced meeting withthe US Vice President Mike Pence in US has raised serious eye brows back athome.
Furthermore the absence of any diplomatic and embassy staff during themeeting has made the matter more suspicious and worrying.
The unusually long ‘private’ visit to the United States has fuelledspeculation that the visit has taken place to seek Washington’s support ingrappling with serious challenges back home.
On Wednesday, Abbasi quietly left for the US on a six-day visit, whichtriggered reports that Abbasi “had some serious business” with powerfulindividuals in the Trump administration in a bid to win their support inbattling multifaceted political crises facing the Pakistan MuslimLeague-Nawaz leadership in general and the Sharif family in particular.
While no formal word came from the Prime Minister’s Office or Abbasi’sspokesman regarding the visit’s motives, PM’s close aides informally toldjournalists that the visit was personal in nature as he had gone to be withone of his sisters, who was scheduled to undergo surgery in Philadelphia onThursday.
However, Abbasi’s unannounced meeting with the US Vice President Mike Penceraised eyebrows. Some media reports claimed that Pence told Abbasi thatPakistan needed to ‘do more’ in its battle against the Taliban.
Discussions with government officials suggest that the PM’s visit mightentail ‘other dimensions’ outside foreign policy issues involvingWashington and Islamabad.
“There’s more to the story than meets the eye,” claimed a governmentofficial, who once served on a diplomatic assignment in the US.
“Heads of states or governments do pay low-key visits in pursuit of theirdiplomatic objectives, but they are accompanied by teams of dedicatedadvisers –foreign policy experts, diplomatic and intelligence officials whorender support in the related meetings. No president or PM is in a positionto take a solo flight on crucial matters of state interest.”
In Abbasi’s case, no government official is accompanying him on the tour tothe US except his chief security officer, the source said.
“For someone who became prime minister only a few months ago and hardlyunderstands the complexities of international diplomacy, paying a secretivevisit to the US to pursue foreign policy objectives is highly unlikely.Given that he (PM) had to meet a person as senior as the US vice president,and that too without the support of his official team, it is too idealisticto believe.”