The UNGA at high levels is over. Prime Minister Imran Khan’s speech was well received: for many, it was simply a speech of the century at the UNGA by a statesman which will be a reference used in posterity. His message was, the bold and the brave will survive the injustice of humanity. Indeed full marks for Imran Khan.After robust but very hectic diplomatic engagements and delivering the key speech at the UNGA, the PM also addressed prestigious media outlets, think tanks and civil society gatherings addressing issue as diverse as terrorism, climate change and as corruption.For example, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, CNN and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the Asia Society, all platforms were properly used getting the Pakistani case out.The real fireworks was finding a discernible traction of Islamabad’s talking points and lobbying on IOKashmir not only as human rights tragedy but also as lingering dispute between India and Pakistan. The hallmarks of the US bilateral engagements produced President Trump and PM Imran Khan’s summit, meetings of the top US diplomat Alice wells, and Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad.It was a great week for the US-Pakistan relations and highlighting the Kashmir cause: it is a good place to start with and work on what is Pakistan’s priorities and those of the US as well. These are the convergence areas for reminder of the year; both sides have hopes and desires and how to make sure none of the two countries step too far out on the edge to work together.From the US side, the whole process will start over again when the teams meet in Washington after this weekend the UNGA related engagements are over.The threadbare discussion will be like here are our goals; how we get there to achieve them; what we can accept and what we can not; then the decision has to be made by the Secretary of State, NSA and the President office. Thus Pakistan will be taken on board if it can come along on convergences arrived at the sidelines of the UNGA.Besides, Afghan talks and Iranian crisis, Kashmir has emerged as a key point of understanding and here is how:Sharing a stage with Prime Minister Modi, did not mean President Trump was oblivious to other US concerns on IOKashmir. He was pretty clear on his repeated pronouncements on mediation issue: Pakistan and India should work out together and the US will help if asked.Given the US government policy being very clear, it is not an internal issue as claimed by India; this is perhaps time for Pakistan and India to resolve the issue after being in limbo for almost 70 years, was the message of President Trump.In a diplomacy what matters is not just what President Trump said but also what he meant? What he meant was, “Yes! India is a strategic partner but the US is also conscious of the fact that its (Delhi’s) attitude on IOKashmir which could become potentially cataclysmic to torpedo convergence on other bilateral issues of the relationship.What is going to happen next is challenging for Islamabad and its India policy: there is still no possibility of direct talks between Islamabad and Delhi; the LoC may get hot again; it is going to be very tricky question and that is. So far Pakistan’s diplomatic forays in Geneva and New York were resounding success. All concerned must now start working on the more difficult task of how to convert PM Imran Khan’s speech at the UNGA and diplomatic traction as foreign policy agenda to be executed.It must be acknowledged that whether it was the speech of prime minister, or arranging and organising sidelines meetings at the UNGA, good efforts were made by the Foreign Office, the Pakistani team at New York and other unsung heroes.The writer is a geopolitical analyst, a politician from Balochistan, and ex-adviser to the Balochistan Government on media and strategic communication. He remained associated with BBC World Service. He is also Chairman of Centre for Geo-Politics & Balochistan.
from The News International - National https://ift.tt/2nXL1fD
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