Pakistan gave the US-sponsored virtual “Summit for Democracy” a miss after remaining ambivalent for days about joining the event in official fear of annoying its all-weather strategic ally China and thereby potentially jeopardizing over US$60 billion worth of Chinese investment in the country.
Pakistan’s foreign office did not explicitly announce that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s elected government turned down the US invitation but media reports indicate that’s what happened, likely under Beijing’s pressure.
China reportedly contacted Pakistani authorities in the two weeks before the summit to lobby them against participating. Days after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had a late-night telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, Pakistan officially decided to skip the summit.
As Pakistan’s Foreign Office announced the decision, official circles in Islamabad were reportedly worried that Washington would be irked by the snub, though no official US statement was made on Pakistan’s non-participation.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said in a statement:
“We remain deeply committed to further deepening democracy, fighting corruption, and protecting and promoting the human rights of all citizens. We value our partnership with the US, which we wish to expand both bilaterally as well as in terms of regional and international cooperation. We remain in contact with the US on a range of issues and believe that we can engage on this subject at an opportune time in the future. Pakistan will, meanwhile, continue to support all efforts aimed towards strengthening dialogue, constructive engagement, and international cooperation for the advancement of our shared goals.”
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https://asiatimes.com/2021/12/pakistan-snubbed-us-democracy-summit-to-please-china/
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