Bluff has been the most potent trick in the arsenal of Imran Khan’s strategy ever since he played cricket. He mastered it, and used it unabashedly. At times it worked, sometimes he thought it had worked.

Ironically, he carried it along in the arena of politics too, more marinated in lies and deception, hardly realizing the need to differentiate between cricket and politics. He shouldn’t be blamed for his inability to amend and mend himself because at the ripe age of 50 and 60, it is hard to learn new tricks and unlearn the old ones. But the onus of employing it more liberally and lethally is on him.

Only days ago, he brandished a paper in the air in front of the gathering of his supporters and claimed that it was a threat letter sent by a power to dislodge him from power. He gave an image that no-confidence move to dislodge him from power through parliament was a foreign sponsored move because he didn’t succumb to its dictates.

Within a day it became clear that there was no letter written by any country to him or anybody else in Pakistan. It was in fact a report generated by an employee of the government of Pakistan who happened to be the ambassador of Pakistan in the United States.

It was his version of impressions he gathered and gleaned from the talks with the high-ups in Washington. How far his version and assessments are true and correct need to be verified. A high-powered committee comprising members from the intelligence agencies, MOFA and opposition parties should be constituted to look into the veracity of the contents.

He has insinuated plot by the US to eliminate him for switching over to Russia and for his visit to Moscow in February 2022, incidentally on the same day Russia attacked Ukraine. The fact is that the idea of no-trust move was already on the anvil before his visit to Russia. This is a concocted story to hoodwink people and try to malign the opposition that has already secured majority in the National Assembly.

IK strongly sensed his diminishing popularity due to poor governance and was advised by his myopic advisors to take a leaf from the political life of former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and try to emulate him to heap all the blame on his valiant stance to challenge the sole superpower of the world. The trick was to play on the popular anti-American sentiments and portray himself, falsely though, as a valiant hero fighting for the country’s interests.

Earlier, he had arranged an interview to say ‘Absolutely not’ to the US request for the bases in Pakistan, which the latter categorically denied to have asked for. The contents of the letter written by the Ambassador are also not believable because if the US was interested in the regime change it would never expose the plan by threatening the target. Requests and threats are part of foreign policy. US can try to coerce a country to compel it for cooperation like Armitage reportedly threatened General Musharraf.

A threat means threat, not a conspiracy. Regime change is done through conspiracy. According to a Washington Post article between 1947 and 1989, during cold war, the United States tried to change other nations’ governments 72 times; 66 covert operations and six overt ones.

It mostly took extreme care in such operations and did it covertly so that it could not be held accountable for its actions.

It is interesting to note that the India abstained from voting against Russia in the UN, like Pakistan and eight others, and also imported oil from Russia, but the Indian PM Modi did not provoke the US with his words. Rather Indian diplomats approached the US to tell them that India was constrained to take this step; no offence. So, the US Dy. National Security Advisor, Russian and British Foreign ministers are visiting India.

Meanwhile, India has enhanced the import of discounted oil from Russia. How can we compare Modi’s smart stratagem for national interest with IK’s selfish shenanigan for personal gain that has pitted Pakistan against the US?

In a strange move, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Dr Asad Majeed, whose controversial cable, sent on 7th March, that was waived in the air by the PM, was transferred to Belgium only 15 days later and he took charge there on 24th March. Has he been removed to block the verification of the cable he initiated which was shown as the letter from America?

US President John F Kennedy said, ‘Domestic policy can defeat us, foreign policy can destroy us.’ In 1950s when Pakistan joined SEATO an CENTO, which were aimed at containing Russia and China, Pakistan hurried to explain and assure China that Pakistan had no intention of being a part in any sort of American scheme to harm China.

The then Chinese foreign minister Zhou Enlai accepted our stance and our relations with China became stronger. Simultaneously, our relations with the US remained cordial. We ought to learn lessons from our past foreign policy moves to strike a balance in our relations with the big powers.

We don’t have to annoy the US to come closer to Russia. Everything boils down to the fact that indiscreet use of foreign policy for domestic political gain is a bad move. The parliament should come up with a solution to bridle a PM or President from issuing statements, especially sour and toxic, on foreign policy or about a foreign country without the consultation of the foreign office. (Courtesy: Daily Times, Lahore)

by Naveed Elahi in Daily Times, Apr 2, 2022