How can a Pakistani leader (claimed himself as an ambassador of Islam and Kashmir) snub great stage with such a big impact? Foreign Minister SMQ is totally irrelevant? He is busy contesting a constituency level clash with a new-comer. He still could not recover from the trauma of not taking the office of CM Punjab.
Unlike the public perception, Nawaz Sharif took some bold steps on the diplomatic front. Lost his close friends in the Middle East, but didn't compromise on the Yemen issue. Similarly he shifted the country's dependence on the USA to China. It is a complete shift in country's direction. Cold shoulders from the West is no more a concern for Islamabad. Shareef found some new allies in Europe (Hungry, Belarus), enhance our ties with the Central Asia ( Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan) and even went for the South Americans. The impact was evident in blocking India's entry to NSG. Even in FATF, when our "All Seasoned Tested Friend KSA" sold us out, it was only Turkey who stood with us.
Now, when TABDEELI people are in power, their magnum opus is our FM, who had a tragic tenure in the past. Initially he was indifferent to CPEC, the lifeline of Pakistan's current economic condition. Ministers were carelessly commenting on this investment by China. When reprimanded by some "State's Institutions" (after they were contacted by the Chinese &"They" also paid a visit), they hurried to China without any preparation and it was a total disaster. Now after hard work of officials, our relationship with China is coming to normalcy but the impact of earlier carelessness is still apparent.
Crown Prince MBS paid a visit and everyone was welcoming with heart and soul. The PM was driving his car. Ministers left no stone unturned in reminding us how important it was for our bilateral relations. Very next day the guest was in India, announcing an investment of 44 Billion Dollars just in the oil sector. The "LEADER OF ISLAMIC WORLD" condemned Adil Dar's suicidal attack as a "heinous terrorist activity". After two weeks, India breached our boundaries. No one from our friends of the Middle East muttered a word of condemnation. Adding salt to injuries, after the abrogation of 370, UAE termed it as an Indian internal manner.
Nawaz government was condemned for issuing licenses for hunting in Pakistan, but the TABDEELI Ministers had the effrontery to issue the same licenses to Emiratis. The Saudi Crown Prince promised to send back two thousand Pakistanis living a miserable life in Saudi jails, but the fact is only 96 could come back to Pakistan. While the progress on announced investment is also moving at a snail' pace. Just months ago KSA raised questions about our medics who have been serving them since the 60s.
There is a myth about how our staunch response or any step against KSA's will is going to affect our expats or remittances from overseas. Despite the fact that there was no decrease in these remittances in the previous government who very clearly went against KSA by not participating in the Yemen war. Pakistan should realize that these two million people are its strength not its weakness. Middle East requires their skills much more than our country requires their remittances. Moreover, KSA is not employing our educated youth rather skilled workers who can have their earnings anywhere because of their skills.
Kuala Lumpur Summit was a perfect stage for PM IK to once again grab the World's attention especially when the whole India is burning with protests against CAB. He could have very easily brought Kashmir's issue into limelight, yet again, in the presence of such powerful countries able to offer us a lot more than what the Middle East can offer and has actually offered us. Take Malaysia for example, is leading in education, technology and research in Asia, has stood firmly with Pakistan's stance on Kashmir in the recent UNGA, and is keen to invest in Pakistan and also has shown interest in purchasing JF17 as compared to its almost done deal with India for HAL Tejas. Qatar has also done a great favor by signing the cheapest LNG deal with Pakistan. There is an increased demand of gas and energy, again. Qatar is also hosting FIFA 2022 and eyeing on organizing Olympics. Qatar is emerging as an alternative to Dubai offering much more as compared to its competitor. Imagine the scale of employment opportunities in Qatar. Iran also stood firmly on the Kashmir issue. Turkey's importance for Pakistan requires a complete write up.
By neglecting this summit, IK didn't only lose a chance to achieve so much but he also made this whole summit controversial by canceling his visit at the eleventh hour. People in higher offices need to retrospect their behavior because the current condition of foreign affairs cannot be labelled as mere the corruption of the previous government.