Only 12 days after his historic address at the 74th UNGA session, Imran Khan rushed on a three days’ official visit to Beijing. Analysts were wondering at the rationale for the urgency of the tour, especially when there are pressing matters at home like an earthquake in Azad Kashmir, deteriorating law and order situation, a dwindling economy and protest rallies by some opposition parties, planning to destabilize the government.
The reasons lie in Imran Khan’s UNGA address, where India’s unilateral action to change the status of Indian Administered Kashmir and Ladakh, the continuing repression of Kashmiris, Islamophobia and the developing situation in Afghanistan and Iran-Saudi standoff are prominent.
Imran Khan’s meeting with most of the world leaders on the sidelines of the UNGA to garner support for bearing pressure on the Indian Government to withdraw its unilateral action to change the status of Kashmir and keeping it in a lockdown for over two months did not yield the desired results. Only China, Malaysia and Turkey addressed the Kashmir issue in their UNGA speeches. The Pakistani Prime Minister is deeply concerned at the plight of the Kashmiris because their continued incarceration and suppression could lead to an eruption. Kashmiris on the Pakistani side are keen to rush logistic support across the heavily guarded Line of Control. Imran Khan is restraining them so far because the move can be misconstrued by India as a military operation and provide it an excuse to retaliate with armed surgical strikes. Pulwama and post Pulwama/Balakot incidents earlier this year had brought the two nuclear arms powered states at the brink of war.
The urgency now is because, Chinese President Xi Jinping is scheduled to visit India and meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi between October 11 and 13. The Pakistani Premier who is accompanied by the Army Chief as well as the DG ISI has urged upon China to bear upon India to ease the pressure on the beleaguered Kashmiris. Much to the chagrin of India, President XI has expressed support for Pakistan’s principled stance on resolving the Kashmir issue in line with the UN Resolutions and bilateral agreements. India continues harp that its August 5 unilateral action is an internal matter but its annexation of Kashmir and Ladakh concern China too since both are disputed territories.
Imran Khan has also briefed President Xi on the latest developments in Pakistan’s efforts to kickstart the peace talks between the Afghan Taliban and USA, since China too is a stakeholder in Afghan peace. The standoff between Saudi Arabia and Iran and Pakistan’s initiatives to arbitrate between the two protagonists will also be shared as Imran Khan is expected to undertake a mission to Tehran and Riyadh for mediation.
The other item on Imran Khan’s agenda was to reassure China of his government’s interest in restarting the second phase of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Owing to economic constraints, Imran Khan’s government was forced to pull back on some of the projects. The Pakistani Prime Minister delivered a speech at the China-Pakistan business forum at Beijing on October 8 to promote “economic and trade exchange and cooperation” between the two countries. The aim was to give assurances to Chinese investors and businessmen to raise their confidence level to participate in establishing special economic zones in Pakistan.
The standoff between Saudi Arabia and Iran and Pakistan’s initiatives to arbitrate between the two protagonists will also be shared as Imran Khan is expected to undertake a mission to Tehran and Riyadh for mediation
Coinciding with the high-level visit of the PM, The President of Pakistan signed an ordinance authorizing the establishment of the CPEC Authority but the major opposition parties-the PML-N and PPP-rejected the CPEC Authority, terming it an “illegal” move in violation of recommendations of the parliamentary committee concerned.
Imran Khan’s indication of borrowing a leaf from President Xi’s book of dealing with corruption was also misconstrued by the opposition as an obsession by the Prime Minister to incarcerate them. Despite being involved in high level corruption cases, the opposition is crying foul since the accountability does not appear to be across the board.
The aspect of Islamophobia may also have come up in light of US Parliament pressing bills for sanctioning China for alleged persecution of Uyghurs. USA, some European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Canada are calling for Beijing to change its policies in the region. Pakistan has sided with its “Iron Brother” China, rejecting the allegations as well as signing an open letter along with 49 countries in defence of China’s policies in Xinjiang. India on the other hand, has been sitting on the fence. Pakistan’s unequivocal declaration of support for China’s “One Country-Two Systems” policy must have been welcomed.
The inclusion of the Army and Intelligence top brass may have lent credence to Pakistan’s seriousness towards Kashmir and guarantees towards security concerns pertaining to CPEC. The Army Chief’s parleys with his Chinese counterparts and the tête-à-tête between the intelligence chiefs of both countries must have been pertinent in the current environment of challenges.
The writer is a retired Group Captain of PAF. He is a columnist, analyst and TV talk show host