New Pakistani PM to strengthen ties with Azerbaijan and Turkey, says analyst
Tazin Akhtar in touch with Caliber.Az

INTERVIEWS  15 April 2022 - 11:00

Pakistani analyst, Editor-in-Chief of ‘Pakistan in the World’ magazine, Tazin Akhtar’s interview with Caliber.Az.

- How do you assess the resignation of Imran Khan and the election of Shahbaz Sharif as the Prime Minister of Pakistan?

- Imran Khan did not resign. He was removed from the leadership of the government. The Pakistan Democracy Movement (PDM), which represents 11 opposition parties and has a majority seat in the National Assembly, expressed no confidence in Imran Khan, but the vice-speaker of parliament did not allow voting for a non-confidence in the prime minister, thus hindering the democratic process. The three allied parties of Imran Khan left him and joined the PDM. Thus, Khan lost the support of key coalition partners and lost his majority in the National Assembly. Imran Khan has constantly obstructed the democratic process in the National Assembly. The PDM then appealed to the Supreme Court, which ruled to hold a vote of no confidence, but Imran Khan and the leadership of the parliament did not comply with this decision. Therefore, the military intervened in the situation - two generals asked him to resign and not plunge the country into a further crisis.

As for Shahbaz Sharif, he is an experienced politician and an experienced administrator. He served three times as chief minister of the Punjab province, which is the largest in the country. Opponents even praise him for his firm word and productive work. He leads an inclusive government that comprises political parties from all four provinces, including the Pakistan People's Party, one of the largest in the country. The stock market in Pakistan has been rising, and the dollar has been falling since he took office 4 days ago. Pakistani society is looking forward to curbing the rampant inflation that afflicted the middle and poor under Imran Khan.

- Imran Khan said that external forces, meaning the United States, are behind his resignation. Do you agree with him? And why did he not please Washington?

- No, I do not agree with Imran Khan that external forces are behind this. I do not agree with his words about the so-called "US conspiracy" that he spreads among ordinary Pakistanis. This is nothing more than a political stunt to gain support and divert attention from their failures. In particular, he said that he allegedly received a letter with threats through our ambassador in Washington, Assad Majid. As if the Pakistani ambassador was warned by the State Department of possible negative consequences if Imran Khan refuses to leave.

However, in reality, there is no such letter written by the US authorities. The new prime minister, Shahbaz Sharif, has already said that he will invite Assad Majid to a meeting of the National Security Committee in the presence of the leaders of the security forces. Thus, the words of the ex-premier will be clarified.

- But you will not deny that Washington was extremely dissatisfied with the visit of Imran Khan to Moscow on the day when the Russian-Ukrainian war began?

- Yes, Washington was displeased with Imran Khan's visit to Moscow. The entire European Union was dissatisfied. Many Pakistanis were displeased. I constantly wrote that Imran Khan is doing wrong by visiting Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin planned a visit to Pakistan many years ago, but canceled it at the request of India.

Moreover, Russia was not such a close friend of Pakistan that we would annoy the US, the EU, and other countries for the sake of Putin. Imran Khan has jeopardized billions of dollars in our trade with the US and the EU. He put our million-strong diaspora in these countries, who earn their living there, in jeopardy. Imran Khan forgot that more than half of our foreign exchange reserves are generated by the same diaspora. In this case, he became supremely selfish. Many countries were annoyed by his policies.

But a conspiracy is a completely different case. Conspiracy and regime change takes time. This cannot be achieved in a few weeks. Imran Khan's visit to Russia took place on February 23-24, and a vote of no confidence was initiated on March 8. How can a conspiracy be prepared in a couple of weeks to overthrow the government?

There is another question about the conspiracy against Imran Khan. Many countries work with their favorites, which they think are better for bilateral relations. This does not mean that they are involved in a conspiracy. For example, Pakistan has never been pleased with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. The latter was overthrown by the Taliban, and just a few days after that, a high-ranking official of our country visited Kabul, where he was photographed with the Taliban over a cup of tea. This was done to show: "We have changed the regime." This government official was none other than Imran Khan's favorite. So, what does this mean? That Imran Khan was involved in a plot against Ashraf Ghani?

- How did Islamabad's closest ally, China, react to the change of government in Pakistan?

- China welcomed the election of Shahbaz Sharif as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. By the way, I want to remind you that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) was initiated during the reign of Nawaz Sharif. Imran Khan's government blocked Islamabad for four months, preventing any foreign dignitaries from visiting the Pakistani capital. President Xi Jinping had to postpone his historic visit to Islamabad, during which China and Pakistan were supposed to announce the biggest project as part of CPEC. So, the brothers - both Nawaz and Shahbaz have a long history of close cooperation with China, cooperation is trustworthy and convenient for both states.

Shahbaz Sharif has such confidence in the Chinese leadership that he asked China to include the Karachi transport project in CPEC. Representatives of the Chinese embassy met with Shahbaz and promised to further strengthen cooperation and accelerate work on CPEC.

- In conclusion, I cannot but ask you this question: how will the change of government in Pakistan affect relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey?

- Turkey and Azerbaijan are very close states to the hearts of Pakistanis. Nawaz Sharif, the older brother of current Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, was a true builder of relations with the new states that were established after the collapse of the USSR. Nawaz Sharif first became the prime minister of Pakistan in 1991. Further, he visited these states, and also held meetings on the sidelines of various world forums.

I see great potential in building the closest relations with Azerbaijan both in the civil and military spheres during the premiership of Shahbaz Sharif.

As for Turkey, President Erdogan and the Sharif brothers have worked together bilaterally and internationally as one team. They respect each other. Turkish schools are considered the best for students in Pakistan. Turkish Airlines is the most demanded airline among Pakistanis. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency – TİKA is a major contributor to Pakistan's social sector. These and many other cooperation mechanisms were developed during the reign of Nawaz Sharif. Imran Khan broke the trust between Islamabad and Ankara when he canceled a trip to Malaysia at the last moment, where a conference of Islamic countries was held with the participation of the presidents of Turkey and Iran, as well as the Emir of Qatar. Now I see the process of restoring the trust destroyed under Imran Khan with Turkey by the government of Shahbaz Sharif.

Caliber.Az