POLITICAL and diplomatic circles are all praise for Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ishaq Dar for the hard work he put in during the last one year to give a fresh look to the country’s foreign relations. They point out that the country was facing several challenges and irritants on the external front and credit goes to Dar for successfully leveraging the potential of the country to cement ties with important states and attract much-needed foreign investment at a time when Pakistan was facing a financial and economic crunch.
Apart from a number of moves that the Deputy PM took during this tenure, two recent developments highlighted his role as defender of the national causes and trouble shooter of the ruling party. The way he oversaw arrangements for the crucial summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and projected the point of view of the country on different issues of interest during bilateral as well as summit-related activities has evolved appreciation from all circles. It is because of his key contribution that the resolution passed by the National Assembly particularly mentioned his name among those who played their part in making the summit a success. It recognized that the conduct of the SCO meeting projected Pakistan’s positive image, expressing the confidence it will help promote regional trade as well as peace and stability. Besides getting credit for making foolproof and comprehensive arrangements for the successful conduct of the mega event, he also fought rivals on the political front sensitizing people of conspiracies being hatched to sabotage the conference. He highlighted that Pakistan was hosting a major international event after several years and would handle its responsibilities with excellence. Diplomatic circles also appreciate the mature policy of the Government that enabled the Indian External Affairs Minister to attend the conference. Like the SCO summit, Ishaq Dar successfully led the Government negotiating team during discussions on the 26th Constitutional Aments. It is because of his political insight that Dar has always been in the lead role whenever national debate is held on important issues. It is also widely believed that he was assigned the portfolio of the Foreign Affairs to give an economic orientation to the foreign policy and he lived up to the expectations. He played an important role in streamlining issues with some friendly countries who responded to the calls of Pakistan for timely aid and investment.
