NEW YORK – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ “successful” visit toPakistan has given boost to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government as itpushes its narrative on the Kashmir issue while dealing with difficulteconomic problems at home, according to an article published in TheDiplomat, an international online magazine.
Hamzah Rifaat Hussain, an assistant researcher at the Islamabad PolicyResearch Institute (IPRI), wrote in the Washington-based magazine that U.N.chief ‘s four-day visit (Feb. 16-19) “marked an important achievement” forhis PTI government , which has “consistently kept the issue of Kashmir andIndia’s crackdown in the valley alive as a focal point of its foreignpolicy and witnessed a surge in its popularity as the visit becamesuccessful.”
“Several comments by the UN secretary general, pertaining, for example, toPakistan’s role in climate change and its contributions in globalpeacekeeping operations, were televised and covered extensively.”
The article noted that the secretary-general’s visit followed the recentvisit by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had earlier statedthat Ankara stands in solidarity with Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir andthat India must cease its brutal clampdown and reinstate the fundamentalrights of the citizens of the valley. “What followed was a sharp rebukefrom New Delhi and additional castigation directed at the Turkish presidentover what India said was interference in its internal affairs. Similaranger, however, cannot be directed at the UN secretary general and hisvisit to Pakistan,” Hussain wrote.
The article said: “Previously, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)government came under fire for adopting a lax approach to the policies ofthe Bharatiya Janata Party government in India. The 2016 assassination ofBurhan Wani in Kashmir should have led to a multipronged approach withdiplomatic heavy-handedness beyond mere words of condemnation, according tomany. The closeness of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Pakistan’sformer Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was noted on occasions such as on thesidelines of the Paris climate change summit in 2015 as well as the Modi’sunexpected visit to Lahore.
“This was contested by the PML-N’s opponents, who viewed any leaningstoward the Modi government as unwarranted and a threat to nationalsecurity. Much was also made of the inability of the former prime ministerto present Kashmir’s case forcefully at the Shanghai CooperationOrganization Conference at Ufa in Russia back in 2015. The meeting and thejoint statement issued were considered anything but a breakthrough.
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“It is against this backdrop of the PML-N’s perceived diplomatic failingson Kashmir that this visit by the UN secretary general carries significancefor the PTI domestically. Their opponents continue to grapple with severecontroversies, chief of which was the 2017 dismissal of Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif over the Panama Papers revelations by the Supreme Court.Several leaders have also been arrested by the National AccountabilityBureau over corruption charges. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan, sincehis government assumed power, has been vociferous in his denunciation ofthe revocation of Article 370 and 35A of the Indian Constitution by theModi government and featured Modi’s actions regularly in PTI rallies heldacross the country. In addition, his UN General Assembly speech last yearaimed at targeting the rise of Islamophobia and calling on theinternational community to pay attention to the atrocities being committedin the Kashmir Valley. The speech was met with widespread approbation;several commentators, including many prominent detractors, lauded it.
“Guterres’ visit also coincided with the hosting of the Refugee Summit inIslamabad, which featured several prominent celebrities. It helped incementing Pakistan’s image as a peace broker with appreciation directed atinitiatives such as the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor. The secretarygeneral took note of the treatment of Muslims in India and Pakistan’spolicies in dealing with the refugee influx from Afghanistan. This softpower projection gives the PTI political mileage and acts as a tool forpolitical rallying for the future. Many PTI candidates that will be seekingreelection can recall the government’s achievements in successfullyprojecting the Kashmir dispute in comparison to the PML-N.”
“As of late, the PTI government has endured severe castigation over itsinability to translate its manifestos into concrete solutions forPakistan’s economic problems. The opposition, emboldened by the PTI’sshortcomings, had launched an attack on Khan with the conservativeJamaat-e-Ulema Islam (F) launching a protest march in November to dethronethe government on the pretext of economic difficulties.
“With the UN secretary general’s visit being hailed as a success, however,the PTI has gained increasing political relevance in a state whichcontinues to grapple with severe economic issues.”
