Pakistan to skip US summit on democracy

[IceCold]

Islamabad believes both countries can engage on the subject at an 'opportune time in the future'

Kamran Yousaf
December 08, 2021


ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan has decided to skip the summit on democracy being convened by President Joe Biden in a rebuke to the White House that may have serious implications for the already strained relationship between the two countries.

The announcement was made by the Foreign Office (FO) just hours before the two-day summit is to kick start after days of in-house consultations.

No reason was cited by the FO in the official handout of virtually snubbing the US invite but multiple factors played a part. One of the reasons includes the exclusion of China from the summit while the overall state of the relationship between the two countries also compelled Islamabad to stay away from the democracy summit.

Read more: No change in America's Pak-Afghan policy

It is believed that President Biden's move to continue to ignore Prime Minister Imran Khan also made it difficult for Islamabad to attend the summit on democracy.


The US president is hosting the summit on December 9 and 10 and has invited leaders from over 100 countries. Pakistan was amongst the only four South Asian countries which were invited to the summit. Others included India, Maldives and Nepal.

"We are thankful to the United States for inviting Pakistan for participation in the Summit for Democracy, being held virtually on 9-10 December 2021," the foreign office said in a statement.

"Pakistan is a large functional democracy with an independent judiciary, vibrant civil society, and a free media. We remain deeply committed to further deepening democracy, fighting corruption, and protecting and promoting the human rights of all citizens. In recent years, Pakistan has instituted wide-ranging reforms aimed at advancing these goals. These reforms have yielded positive results," the official communique read.

Also read: Pakistan denies airspace accord with US

It went on to emphasise that Pakistan values its partnership with the US which it wishes to expand both bilaterally as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation.

"We remain in contact with the US on a range of issues and believe that we can engage on this subject at an opportune time in the future," the statement said while politely rejecting the US invitation.

"Pakistan will, meanwhile, continue to support all efforts aimed towards strengthening dialogue, constructive engagement, and international cooperation for the advancement of our shared goals," it concluded.

 

[Riz]

Bravo, very bold decision by PM imran khan

 

[Imran Khan]

am i dreaming ?

 

[IceCold]

Honestly, I was expecting a mediocre response with perhaps a low-level participation by Pakistan. This is indeed bold.

 

[Ghessan]

lets wait and see when this thread turn into a political brawl. i request mods to ban those who in particular domains of the forum, politicize the threads which are more important to discuss and above political filth.

for political bias there is political section available.

 

[Titanium100]

It was anyways gonna be a farce...

 

[beijingwalker]

Thank you!

Pakistan may skip Biden-led 'Democracy Summit' after China's exclusion

Reports suggest that China has not objected to Pakistan attending the summit but it seems Pakistan on its own decided to not upset the friend. | OpIndia News

www.opindia.com

 

[Ghessan]

although a bold step but to me it seems it will have consequences though we already are going through in certain forms.

it also seems our foreign ministry is not keeping a balance when it comes to China and US which leads to, we are not clear with our foreign policy and still taking influences.
but, this time there may not be much hue and cry because it is China this time? then this too is wrong indeed.

 

[Battlion25]

Ain't no party without Pakistan.. If Pakistan is not there the dance floor is empty

 

[-=virus=-]

Counterproductive move, bravado and making a statement, it's good to maintain a balance. They could have sent a delegation of lower ranked bureaucrats or something to make a statement.

Wonder how much of a role the Sino-Pak relationship played here, Pak clearly views China as their future market for defence acquisition.

 

[Stranagor]

Chinese client state of Pakistan cannot afford to make China unhappy LOL.

How about US vassal India? In Russia we see you as nothing but a useful idiot.

 

[Titanium100]

Chinese client state of Pakistan cannot afford to make China unhappy LOL.

Idiotic buddhistforlife is back.. If Pakistan is client state of China then that means Russia is also a client state of China how about just noo.. But Pakistan-Russia don't fall into the category client they are to powerful for that... Alligances yes but not client don't get it wrong..

 

[Buddhistforlife]

How about US vassal India? In Russia we see you as nothing but a useful idiot.

What is Russia? WHat does Russia have?

Russia's entire economy is based on weapons and it does not have a strong economy. USA is a economic, cultural and technological hub. Millions of Russians are flocking into America for a better life.

Idiotic buddhistforlife is back.. If Pakistan is client state of China then that means Russia is also a client state of China how about just noo.. But Pakistan-Russia don't fall into the category client they are to powerful for that... Alligances yes but not client don't get it wrong..

DO you even know what is a client state? Russia is a powerful country and a ally of China. Russia has an independent foreign policy and independent government framework. But Pakistan's top to bottom is controlled by China. They even cannot vote against Chinese treatment of Uyghurs because the Chinese will be unhappy.

 

[Mav3rick]

Counterproductive move, bravado and making a statement, it's good to maintain a balance. They could have sent a delegation of lower ranked bureaucrats or something to make a statement.

Wonder how much of a role the Sino-Pak relationship played here, Pak clearly views China as their future market for defence acquisition.

Each country should weight pros and cons of its diplomatic decisions. Personally, I believe that a US-Pakistan relation is much more beneficial for Pakistan than the Sino-Pak relation. It is because we are constantly in need of financial assistance and will remain that way for the foreseeable future. China, practically, is too petty with finances and all their assistance is in the shape of loans and/or advances with conditions attached (interest on finances or materialistic). Whereas the US has generally been happy just with services and is a whole lot generous with financial assistance than any other country. What we need is to walk a fine line between both the US and China with inclination towards our own benefits on each matter.

Furthermore, the US has a hegemony on global politics and finances; it is outright insane antagonizing the US. US can very simply crush Pakistani economy and China will sit in a corner and watch, just as the US did to North Korea, Iran and Afghanistan amongst other countries which have faced the US wrath. And worst of all is the unrealistic fear that the US is after our Nuclear Weapons. It is my opinion that the US only cares that our Nuclear Weapons do not fall into the wrong hands and hence has game planned eventualities but those are only in circumstances where the Military is defeated by terrorists/extremists and so negligible and inconsequential.

 

[Chhatrapati]

On one hand we have countries who are unhappy they are not invited then there are ones who are not going. Top it all, there is China, a commie dictatorship who is unhappy they are not invited