As President Joe Biden’s administration has taken charge recently, I hosted Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Dr. Asad Majeed Khan for a webinar-style interview on a number of complex issues faced on bilateral and regional levelthat include the Afghan Peace Process, India’s fascist tendencies, the Kashmir dispute and the prospects of a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
While questioning the envoy on US-Taliban agreement, I asked him about how Pakistan plans toconvince the new administration in streamlining the peace process given its intention to adopt a slow-placed policy. On this, Ambassador Khan pointed out US Defense SecretaryLloyd Austin’s testimony at the senate confirmation hearing where he fully endorsed the peace process by diplomatically engaging with the Afghan government and the Taliban for a durable and robust settlement to the conflict. Yet the envoy also mentioned the fact that the schematics might differ in light of a potential inter-agency process. Notably, it was mentioned that the peace process is at a critical stage now and differs from the policies initiated during the Obama Administration when the peace initiative was in its infancy.
More importantly, Ambassador Khanemphasised that the Trump White House was directly handling Afghan affairs which was a departure from previous conventional traditions that are set to return now. Nevertheless, he stated that both Pakistan and the United States wish for a common goal of peace and key members of the Biden administration are all ‘Washington insiders’ who are foreign policy veterans including National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken (both of whom are advocates of a review).
In his final comments on the matter, the envoy shed light that the mood in Capitol Hill is all about a slow-paced process of whose specifics can be jointly worked out by Islamabad and Washington.
In my own assessment, the process is convoluted which does requirea robust mechanism to end the two decades long conflict.
The next handful ofquestions for the ambassador were specific to New Delhi’s regional fascism and obsession with Islamabad, and the first one was about lobbying circles in Washington through which India could potentially contain Pakistan. While the new administration is the most ethnically diverse in America’s history, a concern was raised with the inclusion of three Indian-Americans in the White House’s National Security Council and an overall impact on President Biden’s South Asia policy.
On this, Ambassador Khan stated that the United States is a unique country in which the new cabinet is historical in terms of its diversity with each set ofpeople retaining their roots yet becoming a voice for America singularly. He pointed out that though the Pakistani-American community may not be as large as some of the others, it does play a vital role as part of the diasporas with whom the embassy works closely. He furthered added that in the end it’s all about mutuality of interests that determine the direction of bilateral relationship.
In other words, he felt that policymaking is all about America’s interests rather than any other country in Washington’s diplomatic circles.
In the same sequence of questions, I mentioned about Pakistan’s National Security Advisor Dr. Moeed Yusuf’s desire for a trade and investment focused relationship with Washington that goes beyond the security and regional paradigm.
Ambassador Khan was optimistic in this regard as he agreed with the notion of diversification which has a tremendous scope from economic angle. His stance on shunning aid-oriented ties echoes in Islamabad as well since he mentioned about Prime Minister Imran Khan’s own views on how to reshape ties with the United States. It was further added that in the last several months alone, remittances jumped 47% which are trade-oriented while exports increased by a huge margin. Pakistan’s geographical importance has brought US corporates into the fold with investments made or planned in agricultural and technological fields as per the prime minister’s vision for ease of doing business.
On the long-standing dispute of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), I asked the veteran diplomat whether President Biden would seek a political solution apart from his pledge to highlight India’s mass human rights abuses given that his predecessor offered to mediate twice but was shunned by New Delhi. Not mentioning the fact that a plebiscite is long overdue with the non-operationalism of Articles 35A/370 complicating the matter.
Ambassador Khan was cautious in this regard and chose to emphasis on a ‘wait and see’ policy under President Biden. Nevertheless, as per his take, Pakistan continues to highlight the plight of Kashmiris which has also assisted in the Congressional hearings held specifically on the Kashmir dispute in post-5 August 2019 scenario. Moreover, the envoy hoped that of a value-based foreign policy by the Democrats under Secretary of State Antony Blinkenwho vowed to pursue a progressive agenda.
However, I had a slightly differing view in which the core members of the Democrat party clash in opinions with those who are considered ‘rebellious’in nature such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Hence, I remained sceptic on an earlier resolution to the Kashmir conflict.
The ambassador, nonetheless, had an interesting take which aligns with his earlier stanceon congressional hearings and Washington officially terming the region disputed since long. Another angle to consider is the media space for New Delhi on which the veteran diplomat clearly stated that its narrative is failing and that its supposedly unblemished image has completely changed for the worse in the last several years owing to its fascist tendencies and mass human rights violations under the BJP regime.Whether it’s the EU Disinfolab, post-Pulwama attack false narrative ordemographic changes in J&K, India’s falsehoods are exposed for the world to see.
However, the envoy added that an official policy shift on New Delhi’s subversive activities is yet to be seen in Capitol Hill and how far it goes would be closely monitored by Islamabad. This is, perhaps, the most important factor to consider in my opinion as the media narrative is simply a limitation on its own unless a substantial progress is taken by the movers and shakers in Washington.
The following question for the ambassador again focused on economic relations which are in line with PM Imran Khan’s objective for mutually beneficial ties in the long-run which are beyond the security paradigm. I specifically asked about the steps being taken by the embassy in uplifting such relations unconditionally on which Ambassador Khan had this to say, ‘Our focus is on geoeconomic rather than geostrategic realm and we wish to act as a place where both the United States and China should feel comfortable in doing business. This is the ‘Naya Pakistan’ we would like to introduce to the Biden administration whose officials have been long-time veterans when it comes to the region.’
Yet I did feel this wasn’t enough as the stance taken by Austin and Blinken for South Asia is outdatedand over a decade old which focused on security paradigm for Pakistan in contrast with the economic and geostrategic paradigm for India that is about countering China’s clout. I specifically asked Ambassador Khan on what Islamabad can do to convince President Biden for balancing ties in the region especially when India is under the grip of a Nazi-inspired fascist regime that in no way is aligned with the policies of the Democrats that are about inclusivity, liberalism and tolerance at home and abroad.
The envoy termed it a challenge for the relations and over the years, he witnessed that the ties were looked through the Afghan prism by Washington. He believes that it’s high time a change should come and Pakistan be recognised on its own rather than be looked upon through third party lenses. In his opinion, state ties shouldn’t be conditioned yet will continue to highlight the wrongdoings and ill-intended actions of regional disrupters such as the current regime in New Delhi.
On ArnabGoswami’s WhatsApp scandalseemingly implicating him in New Delhi’s false flag operation against Islamabad for electoral reasons, the veteran diplomat stated that he had been in regular touch with officials in Washington for about two years ever since the Pulwama crisis occurred. According to him, Pakistan had been used as a punching bag for years by New Delhi solely for political reasons which Washington is fully aware of through shared evidences and briefings with staffers.
He does hope for a change in policy which in my opinion, requires a miracle as Washington seems to think New Delhi as a ‘shining beacon’ of democracy which it isn’t as the Manmohan Singh era was over long ago with a sinister lot at the helm of affairs right now.
The focus of our conversation then shifted towards Israel’s recognition spree recently and whether Pakistan was pressured to recognise. On this, the envoy denied any such pressure on him or even the officials in Islamabad as believes in a foreign policy based on principles that are in line with a two-state solution. This can also be confirmed by PM Imran Khan’s own clear stance on refusal to recogniseIsrael without a resolution to Palestinian dispute.
Notably, I did point out the indirect pressure made on Pakistanby Israeli media on which the veteran envoy emphasised on actual policymaking rather than aspirations and wishful thoughts.
Lastly, deviating from questions on foreign policy, I asked Ambassador Khan on what advise would he give to those aspiring to join the Foreign Service of Pakistan (FSP) along with his hard work in preparing for the service. He wasn’t taken aback on this question at all and the first thing he immediately said was doing it all over again. He stated that a career in foreign service is simply exceptional that provides unlimited opportunities and acts as a learning process. He further stated that more importantly, it provides an opportunity to serve the country in ways one can’t imagine.
‘It’s a hard toil and sometimes people romanticise living abroad yet not all assignments are based in Washington or London. One has to experience serving in difficult diplomatic stations as well which coincide’s with moving from one station to another. Moreover, one needs to have knack in psychological and emotional tolerance for moving around all their life. Hence, it’s a great career which one should consider joining if have a passion and commitment,’ Ambassador Khan stated in his closing remarks.
It is pertinent to mention thata number of events have occurred in between the interview and its publication that relate to Washington’s policy on South Asia under Secretary Blinkenthat are interlinked with British-Pakistani terrorist Ahmad Omar Saeed Sheikh’s court relief in Daniel Pearl’s murder case. I did fear these factors would effect ties and hope for a fruitful outcome that can reshape US-Pakistan ties for the better.
The writer is Associate Editor (Diplomatic Affairs), Daily Times. He tweets @mhassankhan06
