Diplomatic snub: Pakistan skips US summit on democracy

— Amb (R) Abdul Basit hails the decision, says Pakistan unflinchingly supports one-China Policy

— Pakistan can’t attend a moot where Taiwan is invited and China is not invited, says the former diplomat

— American invitation was aimed at causing a breach in Pakistan’s friendship with China, says Amb Durrani

ISLAMABAD: In a rare diplomatic snub, Pakistan Wednesday announced to skip the summit on democracy being convened by President of the U.S. Joe Biden.

The announcement was made by the Foreign Office (FO) just hours before the two-day summit was to kick start.

The US president is hosting the summit on December 9 and 10. The US had invited leaders from over 100 countries to join the summit. Pakistan was among the four countries in the region which were invited to the summit. Others included India, Maldives and Nepal. Surprisingly, US also invited Taiwan to the summit, igniting China.

Informed sources say that the decision has been taken after days of in-house consultations and deliberations. The move seems to be a major rebuke to the White House that may have serious implications for the already strained relationship between the two countries.

“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,” the official communiqué reads.

In recent years, the statement said, Pakistan has instituted wide-ranging reforms aimed at advancing these goals. These reforms have yielded positive results, the statement added.

The statement said 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.

The foreign office statement did not cite any reason for the decision. However, multiple factors may have played a part. One of the reasons includes the exclusion of China, the iron-brother of Pakistan, from the democracy summit. The way Chinese government responded to its exclusion from the summit may have played a role in Pakistan’s decision.

Moreover, US President Joe Biden’s continuous cold shoulder to Prime Minister Imran Khan also made it difficult for Islamabad to attend the summit on democracy.

Ambassador (R) Abdul Basit told this scribe that Prime Minister Imran Khan did the right thing.

“We cannot be at the forum where Taiwan is invited and China is not. Pakistan unflinchingly supports one-China policy,” he added.

Ambassador (R) Asif Durrani also backed the decision to skip the US Summit.

“I think it’s a good decision just to let the Americans know that we cannot abandon our friends,” he said referring to US decision to keep out China and invite Taiwan to the summit.

“In my view, the American invitation was aimed at causing a breach in Pakistan’s friendship with China, Turkey, KSA, UAE, Russia, and many other countries. It was no fun to rub shoulders with leaders having fascist tendencies, such as Modi, and call it a democratic alliance,” he concluded.

Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Pakistan’s top expert on China, Pakistan relations, told this scribe that this is a correct decision reflecting both the sentiments of the people of Pakistan as well as our national interests.

“The US thought they’ll snap their fingers and we’ll come running! In any case, with participation of ‘democrats’ like Modi, the so-called ‘Democracy Summit’ becomes a farce,” said Senator Mushahid who heads Pakistan-China Institute, the country’s independent think-tank.

“(This is) basically, weaponising ‘democracy’ as part of the new Cold War against China and Russia. Even the democratic credentials of the U.S. are suspected given what’s been happening, of late. The US seems to be reverting to the rhetoric of the past, the previous Cold War which was billed as an ideological struggle,” concluded Mushahid Hussain Sayed.