While the domestic political scene is abuzz with the growing rivalry between Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N), the international political front is also a bit shaky for Pakistan. The presidency of Donald Trump was bad news for Pakistan and we have seen the results since the very first days. Despite the United States of America (USA) admitting that Pakistan is key to stability in Afghanistan, they are still adamant that the country needs to sidelined and heavily sanctioned to ensure its complete cooperation. What is even more debilitating to the nation is America’s proposal to put Pakistan into the global terrorist-financing watchlist along with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the decision of France and United Kingdom to co-sponsor it.
In times like these, the decision of the Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif to undertake a diplomatic trip to Russia in response to the invitation of his counterpart in the country is a very intelligent move. Pakistan, at this particular time, needs allies and strong diplomatic relations to prevent its isolation in the global political community. The relation with the West is not going to turn around any time soon. It would be intelligent to reach out to neighbours and allies to ensure support when needed.
Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif should particularly be commended in this regard. After being handed the ministry, he has been very vigilant in terms of his diplomatic trips and ensuring Pakistan is represented on the needed platforms. Diplomatic consistency is highly important in times like these and sound diplomatic decisions will protect Pakistan from being the target and the scapegoat of a decade of mistakes made in the region of South Asia. All means should be exhausted to ensure cooperation via trade, culture, education, investment, politics and defence.