SPEAKING as chief guest at a function in Islamabad, Federal Minister for Human Rights Shirin Mazari made scathing remarks against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs blaming it for ““letting down the Kashmiris and (Prime Minister) Imran Khan” by not taking his nuanced narrative forward and merely resorting to traditional diplomacy. Dr Mazari regretted that the FO was still following ‘obsolete and uni-dimensional’ approach towards the Kashmir issue that according to her would not work in the present age of modern technology and social media.
Dr Shirin Mazari is a seasoned defence and foreign policy analyst and she might have formed the opinion on the basis of her own understanding of different aspects of Kashmir issue. She also has a point when she says Prime Minister Imran Khan deserves credit for changing the narrative on Kashmir as his forthright approach is receiving recognition not just at home but also abroad. However, in the first place, there was hardly any justification for speaking against a Ministry through media when you have the platform of cabinet (meetings) to express yourself on important issues. Why Mazari did not point out in cabinet meetings if something was going wrong in the Foreign Affairs Ministry? Secondly, FO is not operating in vacuum as it is headed by a vocal Minister who is among central leaders of PTI and Mazari’s criticism is, in a way, vote of no-confidence in her own colleague Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Thirdly, it is damn easy to make generalized remarks but would the accusing minister point out what specific guidelines and directions were given to the FO, which it did not carry out. The allegations that our envoys prefer to enjoy perks and do not bother to work hard to promote and highlight cause of the country is longstanding but what the present government did to change this culture. Pakistan has a number of vulnerabilities that make the job of Foreign Office challenging but despite that it has effectively been discharging its responsibilities. The tendency of belittling institutions or making them controversial shakes the very foundations of the country and, therefore, needs to be discouraged.
