Smoke and Fire

In this modern time and age when the world has been constricted to a global village, no country can afford to be a part of the global community at the expense of defying globally accepted norms and international protocols. For a responsible sovereign state that claims to be an inevitable part of the global citizenry, an act taken in isolation also has both short- and long-term repercussions, especially when the act seems to contravene international laws and established norms. Pakistan is no exception. In fact, the country grabs more attention on the international radar than other South Asia nations owing to a mélange of reasons that places Pakistan at the centre of global focus one way or the other.

The red flag should have been raised for those who rule the roost in this part of the world when a U.S. congressional resolution was passed by a clear majority, calling for an independent investigation into alleged rigging in the Pakistan General Elections held in February 2024. Mind you! The resolution — passed with 85 per cent of the U.S. House members participating and 98pc voting in its favour — was not a knee-jerk resolution passed by the parliament of a Third World nation, nor was it just a diplomatic rejoinder from a Sub-Saharan island state; the U.S. House of Congress happens to be the central law-making body of the world’s superpower country and takes such critical decisions that pave the way for the U.S. government even to seal the fate of the other nations.

Most importantly, it took the U.S. Congress over 120 days to convey its position on general elections, which were held in February this year. This shows that the U.S. Congress resolution was a well-calibrated measure and a timely move based on keen observation, in-depth analysis, and rigorous homework. Therefore, the resolution cannot be outright dismissed as merely a means of applying pressure or an act of bullying, as the United States has done many times in the past.

However, in marked contrast, the Pakistan government, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, was seen in a kind of haste to pass the resolution against the U.S. move without judging the gravity of the matter or trying to know the original intent along with its far-reaching impact not for the current Pakistani regime but also the future of the country as a whole. Other than a myopic outlook, the current set-up is rightly to blame for jumping to conclusions out of snap judgment as if that was the moment for political point-scoring aimed at maintaining the high ground at the behest of the powers that be. All things considered, when it comes to country-to-country dealings and foreign affairs of the states, passing a resolution against a resolution is not the mature answer but a reflexive reaction, and Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry should have risen to the occasion to put its head together and consult with both international and external resources to read between the lines and take a hint before making a move in the right direction.

Adding insult to injury, the U.S. Congress resolution aimed at Pakistan was followed by the statement issued by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the UN. That was during its ninety-sixth session, held from 27 March to 5 April 2023, when the Working Group adopted opinions demanding the unconditional release of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan. In its 17-page lengthy document, the Working Group showed its grave concerns about the illegal arrest of Pakistan’s former prime minister, raising a plethora of questions about the general allegations of widespread arrests, detentions, and disappearances of political activists, including many PTI supporters, urging the concerned Pakistani authorities to take swift and appropriate action in that regard.