It is quite customary for heads of state to congratulate when someone wins in democratic elections. After Nawaz Sharif won, with a large majority US President Mr Barack Hussein Obama sent his felicitations, which was not out of the usual, but Pakistan has been enslaved by the US dominance for more than two decades and everyone wants to see a free Pakistan, fighting its own battles and wars! Mr Obama also expressed his desire to meet Nawaz Sharif soon. This ‘invitation’ seems to be the main reason for his greeting and one hopes that Nawaz Sharif would not show undue haste in obliging Mr Obama for once because if he did, it would certainly be taken as US dominance in our affairs.
This time we need to maintain some self-respect and uphold all our claims of being an independent nation, we need to make our foreign policy clear. Nawaz Sharif should therefore, take his own time in visiting foreign countries and let the foreign office plan diligently the time, the duration and the order of his visits, keeping upper most in mind the national interest and our very brotherly relations with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia etc. If Mr Obama is keen to meet Nawaz Sharif why not board the Air Force One and fly over to Islamabad? We assure him a warm welcome and will pray for his safety.
COL. RIAZ JAFRI (RETD),
Rawalpindi, MAY 16.