Singapore: A former Singaporean diplomat says that Pakistan is on the verge of destruction and its crisis is because of its army. If Pakistan did not have a nuclear bomb, no one would care about it. Former Singapore diplomat Bilhari Kausikan said this at a meeting with journalists at the International Reporting Fellowship.
‘Pakistan’s real problem is not India, it is its army and politicians’
The statement comes at a time when the Pakistani government has repeatedly boasted of its geopolitical successes such as close ties with the US Republican Party, while the masses struggle with poverty and radicalisation. Talking about poverty-stricken Pakistan, Kausikan said that Pakistan’s problem is not India or Afghanistan, but its own politicians and army.
‘Even America’s friendship cannot save Pakistan’
Talking about Pakistan’s role in mediation efforts during the US-Iran tension, he said, “I will say it very clearly. Pakistan has shown great agility and success in taking advantage of the diplomatic opportunity and this has at least helped in improving Pakistan’s diplomatic image in the eyes of America. But you know, this does not satisfy the people of Pakistan.” He was referring to the deep economic crisis going on in Pakistan.
Let us tell you that Kausikan was an experienced diplomat who worked as the Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Singapore from 2010 to 2013 and the Chairman of the ‘Middle East Institute’, an autonomous institute of the National University of Singapore.
What did you say about Islamabad’s relations with the Trump administration?
Talking about Islamabad’s ‘allegedly’ close relations with the Trump administration in the US, Kausikan said Islamabad’s basic approach to Washington remains the same. Describing Pakistan as ‘a country on the verge of destruction’, he said that no diplomatic success can change this basic truth. He further said, “The situation has not completely deteriorated, for which we should be thankful, but that diplomatic success does not change the basic reality. I do not think that America will completely remove all the sanctions imposed on Pakistan.
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