Daily Times

A single irresponsible statement by any public office holder can cause unimaginable damage to a country and its interests. This is especially true if that public office holder is the chief executive of the country. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent remarks about Pakistan’s diplomats was one such statement.

In the recently held virtual meeting with Pakistan’s diplomats and envoys in different countries, the prime minister chided them publicly for not having the best interests of overseas Pakistanis at heart.

This one act has caused irreparable damage to the morale of diplomats and undermined all their services to Pakistan and its citizens overseas. The prime minister went as far as comparing Pakistani diplomats with those from India and praising the latter for working far better. I am not arguing that criticism should not be levelled where it is due. However, any criticism must be cognizant of ground realities and constructive in nature.

Firstly, the comparison with Indian diplomats is wrong for a number of reasons. The nature of diplomacy and the magnitude of challenges faced by Pakistani diplomats are much greater and harder in comparison. Ever since the cold war, Pakistan has been at the forefront of global conflicts, one way or another. From the Afghan war in the 1980s to Pakistan’s geostrategic role during the war on terror and subsequent US withdrawal, the scope and nature of the work of Pakistani diplomats have been ever-challenging and ever-changing. In comparison, Indian diplomats have singularly focused on trade and the economy for the better part of three decades.

Secondly, the foreign service of Pakistan, as is the case with many institutions, suffers from nepotism and the resulting unprofessionalism. Even in Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tenure, diplomatic postings are based on political exigencies, not on professionalism and merit. We have seen retired army officers being appointed as envoys over seasoned diplomats of the foreign service. On the other hand, we don’t see such “AD HOCISM” on the Indian side. How can political appointees compete or lead their teams against professional service officers? I am not sure if the prime minister was briefed about the strength of the Pakistani foreign service in comparison with that of India’s, but Pakistan has only 500 diplomats in its service compared to India’s much larger number.

Indian diplomats admit to the professionalism of Pakistan’s foreign service officers

Furthermore, his statement also gave ample opportunity to India and its media to build a narrative against Pakistan’s foreign office based upon the words of its own prime minister. It was this very foreign office that has kept the Kashmir issue alive for the last eight decades. Indian diplomats admit to the professionalism of Pakistan’s foreign service officers and how they have actively and successfully kept the issue of Kashmir alive. I would like to quote Natwar Singh, who, in his book “From Heart to Heart,” said, “It goes to the credit of Pakistani diplomats to keep Kashmir on the agenda of the General Assembly for all these 60 years. Their best is as good as our best.”

When we talk about shortcomings, we must also acknowledge strength. Therefore, I would like to highlight a few other achievements of Pakistan’s foreign office here. Every other week, the prime minister tweets enthusiastically about the increase in remittances coming to Pakistan. The role of Pakistan’s diplomats cannot be ignored in this success. Addressing the problems of the overseas community is only one function of the foreign service. Diplomats perform multifarious functions: bilateral political relations, economic relations, defence issues, promotion of Pakistani culture, cooperation on education, employment opportunities for Pakistanis and provision of consular services to Pakistanis and foreigners, etc. It is an achievement of the Pakistani missions that they are tackling with different fronts but still, remittances are increasing. Largely, because their hard work is paying back in the form of better working and living conditions of the Pakistani community.

Pakistanis living abroad do have a litany of complaints against Pakistan’s consular services, but we cannot generalise it to all missions and all services. Pakistan’s ambassadors and counsellor staff are professional and qualified. Despite working in challenging environments with limited

resources, they are still facilitating the Pakistani community. To publicly criticise them without acknowledging their achievements was a terrible disservice. This not only reflects on the foreign service but also the foreign minister.

The prime minister cannot ignore the achievements of our diplomats. Pakistan’s foreign officers have many contributions to world peace. Even the US has recognised Pakistan’s efforts in the de-escalation of tensions between the US and China in the 1970s by facilitating the then US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s visit to China in 1971. This led to the then US President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972. Moreover, Pakistani diplomats have huge contributions to Pakistan, for the region and global peace. I would like to pay tribute to legendary officers like Agha Shahi, Agha Hilal, Aziz Ahmed Khan, Munir Akram, Tariq Altaf, Akram Zaki, Zafar Habib, Ahmed Kamal, Zafar Hilali, Hamayon Khan, Masood Ali Khan, Riaz M. Khan. Shamshad Ali Khan, Riaz Khokhar, Jaleeb Abbas Jilani, Muneer Kamal, Mion ul Haq, Amjid Sial, Ibn-e-Abbas, Riffat Mehdi, Shahid Malik, Athar Iqbal, Salman Bashir, Ghalib Iqbal, Qazi Khalil Ullah, Naseem Anwar Baig, Qudrat Ullah Shahab, S K Mehmood, Jahandad Khan and many more who can’t all be named here. We must not also forget the role that our female diplomats are playing for Pakistan. Great and inspirational women like Maleeha Lodhi, Naghmana Hashmi, Zehra Akbari, Seema Illahi Baloch, Fauzia Sana, Ayesha Riyaz, Humaira Hasan, Riffat Iqbal and many others have not only achieved a lot for Pakistan but also broken various glass ceilings for women along the way.

The adoption of the Pakistan-led UN Resolution on Palestine and the successful visit of the UNGA President to Pakistan can be seen as recent examples of the Pakistan Foreign Office delivering under testing circumstances. There are shortcomings in every institution. But, rather than publicly shaming and blaming, the prime minister should focus on strengthening his foreign minister; making resources available and giving policy directives to overcome problems and challenges faced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic Pakistan: the country’s first line of defence.

The writer is an honorary consul general for a European Country in Pakistan and has worked in the international trade and commerce arena for the past three decades. He can be reached at myan.mehmood@gmail.com