One reason for such a breach could be attributed towards not having a foreign minister for the last three years
LAHORE: Once again, Pakistan’s name found a place in the media top stories all over the globe — not because of any terror-related incident but because of a blunder by the Foreign Office of Pakistan. It is normal diplomatic tradition that various head of the states congratulate their counterparts around the world on a victory in the elections by making a personal call to them, but the transcript of the conversation is never released. There is only a brief press release stating that two leaders exchange pleasantries. To the surprise of all, a transcript of the phone call between US-President elect Mr. Donald Trump and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was released by the Prime Minister House.
Normal diplomatic practice is that readouts of such conversations are written carefully using diplomatic language. It is surprising the press released only the words of Mr. Trump and remained quiet about what PM Sharif said in reply to the words of praise for him and the country by Mr. Trump. The world media and experts on diplomacy between the two countries called the press release from the PM house, “a breach of diplomatic protocol and tradition, and inappropriate.” The release of the conversation no doubt resulted in boasting the morale of Pakistanis, but it landed the Trump transaction team in deep embarrassment, who, in a press release, stated that “It was a productive conversation” and completely avoided commenting on the words as reported in the press release by the PM office in Islamabad.
The release of the conversation without considering the adverse reaction of world media will cause irreparable damage to the cordial relations between the two countries. The yesteryears’ diplomats like Mohammad Zaffarullah Khan, Zulfikar Bhutto, Sahabzada Yaqub Khan must be feeling restless in their graves upon the breach of diplomatic protocol. One reason for such a breach could be attributed towards not having a foreign minister for the last three years.
Aamir Aqil
Published in The Express Tribune, December 4th, 2016.
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