Imran Khan must cooperate with, not confront, international community
New Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan is a populist who has consistently accused his political opponents of betraying Pakistan’s interests abroad. Often relying on hyper-nationalistic rhetoric, Khan painted both Asif Ali Zardari (leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party) and Nawaz Sharif (leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-N) as corrupt plutocrats willing to sell out Pakistan’s interests for self-gain. Whilst in opposition, he referred to Pakistan’s participation in the War on Terror as “fighting America’s war.”
He offered simplistic solutions of exiting the partnership with the US and asserting Pakistan’s sovereignty, bringing back home the “looted wealth of corrupt politicians,” and demanding self-respect internationally. This appealed to his supporters, many of whom failed to analyze the complexity of the situation in Afghanistan or understand that, in order to revive Pakistan economically, one would have to cooperate with and not confront international powers.
Now that he is no longer in opposition but in government, Khan’s supporters expect him to deliver. To make matters worse, Pakistan is suffering from an acute balance of payments crisis and will, in all likelihood, need to approach the International Monetary Fund, where the US has significant clout, for a multibillion-dollar bailout. For its part, the Trump government, equally hyper-nationalistic, has already signaled through Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the conditions for any bailout will have to be very stringent.
Moreover, President Donald Trump has so far not called Khan to congratulate him on his premiership. Instead it was Pompeo who got in touch, and Khan was criticized domestically for taking the call instead of directing it to Pompeo’s counterpart, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi. Further, the call sparked controversy as the Pakistani version did not match the US version in terms of what was discussed. In a war of words, Pakistan's Foreign Office denied that it was asked by the US to take action against terrorists based in Pakistan. The US has since released a transcript of the conversation, embarrassing the new government further.
Pakistan is suffering from an acute balance of payments crisis and will, in all likelihood, need to approach the International Monetary Fund, where the US has significant clout, for a multibillion-dollar bailout.
Ayesha Ijaz Khan
Qureshi is a seasoned politician, but he is not a party loyalist. He was previously the foreign minister during the PPP’s tenure. Back then, in 2009, he was criticized profusely by Khan and his supporters for compromising, in their view, Pakistan’s sovereignty under the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Act. Also, in 2011, Raymond Davis, a CIA contractor, killed two reportedly armed men in Lahore, but was protected by diplomatic immunity and let off after paying “diyya” (blood money). An outrage ensued, with Khan and his party at the forefront of the protests, which led to Qureshi's resignation.
Fast forward to 2018, however, and the same Qureshi is Khan's foreign minister. Nevertheless, not everyone in the party is happy that turncoat politicians have been rewarded over party loyalists. One such disgruntled loyalist is Shireen Mazari, the newly appointed human rights minister. Previously the party's spokesperson on foreign affairs, her views have been consistently hawkish.
The first issue she spoke out against was the blasphemous caricature competition that Dutch opposition leader Geert Wilders had announced his far-right party would hold in the Netherlands. Wilders has now cancelled the competition, citing security threats. In 2004, a documentary filmmaker was shot dead in Holland by a Dutch-born Muslim because his film provoked Muslims. And, in 2015, the office of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in France was attacked, with 12 people killed, because it had featured a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad. In Europe, the rise of the far-right has centered on a clash of values with immigrant Muslim populations, leading to security concerns.
But, worryingly for Pakistan, Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan, a newly created political party, had threatened a march on Islamabad and a sit-in until the government expelled the Dutch ambassador. TLP's previous three-week-long sit-in back in November 2017 ended only when its demands were met. This set a dangerous precedent, but PTI back then had encouraged such a move for the sake of fighting a political foe, the Sharif government.
The government was lucky this time because the blasphemous competition was cancelled, and it is now taking credit for the outcome, spinning it that its diplomatic efforts resulted in the cancellation. Next time such a crisis emerges, however, it may not end so easily.
Ayesha Ijaz Khan is a lawyer who lives in London. Twitter: @ayeshaijazkhan
