* Dr Vedapratap Vaidik
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s rivals are mocking at his claim that the US was trying to oust him from power. But it is a fact; America has been mounting pressure on all countries across the globe to adopt an anti-Russian posture. The most credible proof for this is the recent visit of US Deputy National Security Advisor Dalip Singh to India.
Why this Indian-origin officer was urgently dispatched to Delhi? The reason is simple; to maneuver Indian government on Ukraine crisis. The American emissary deployed all arms in diplomatic arsenal to impress upon India. Singh has communicated to our External Affairs Minister Jaishankar that if India did not support America, there will be serious consequences. The American emissary also warned India that Russia would not be of any help in the event of a Chinese aggression.
However, Jaishankar should have given a befitting reply to Dalip Singh by asking him if America was protecting Ukraine from the ongoing armed conflict. In fact, America has pushed Ukraine into the current crisis and left that country in the lurch.
Likewise, America was treating Pakistan as its ‘tail’ and kept that country in limbo for many decades. The US kept on instigating Pakistan against the Soviet Union and India, but did they support Pakistan in the 1965, 1971 and Kargil wars?
No, they did not support. Keeping this in mind, Imran said quite rightly that India’s foreign policy was on the right track and he also wanted to have an independent path. Imran Khan does not appreciate Super Powers using his country as a footboard. America’s indignant protest on Imran’s visit to Russia was absolutely unwarranted. His visit to Russia was scheduled much before the Ukraine conflict.
Like India, Imran Khan neither opposed nor supported Russia. It is quite natural; Imran’s neutral stance might have annoyed America. That could be the reasons for an American official severely rebuke the Pakistani ambassador in Washington. The US ambassador in Islamabad also has written a letter to Imran Khan.
Now Imran alleges, America has been plotting to unseat him as Prime Minister of Pakistan. But his accusation does not hold water.
Imran Khan has landed in this mess due to the rebellion within his party. But it will remain unforgettable in the history of Pakistan that their Prime Minister has openly lauded the foreign policy of their arch rival, India. Imran’s future notwithstanding, will Pakistan learn any lesson from this incident or not?
India has not yielded to US pressure and at the same time reminded Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that we wanted the sovereignty, freedom and territorial security of any nation intact. If Pakistan had also pursued similar policy from the beginning, it would have garnered more respect and appreciation from across the World.
*Dr. Vaidik is a widely travelled scholar-journalist. He has visited more than 80 countries on diplomatic and educationalmissions. Dr. Vaidik has won more than a dozen National and International awards for academic and journalistic excellence. He has been a member of several Advisory Committees of Government of India.
