‘Best speech’, but what next?

Not words but how the PM translates his words into action will determine his legacy and success on Kashmir

The euphoria is not over yet. From his admirers to his staunchest critics, from journalists to celebrities, almost everyone has hailed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly session on Friday. His speech was even a top Twitter trend across the world. What prompted many to shower praise on him was the manner with which he put across his perspective whether on Islamophobia or the so-called War on Terror, or highlighting the human rights situation in IOK. His supporters and voters have concluded that Imran Khan has truly emerged as leader of the Muslim world, who unlike others hit all the right chords. They even drew parallels between his address and certain fiery speeches by former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, at international forums.

There was no doubt that Bhutto was a brilliant orator. One of his speeches in the United Nations on Kashmir, where he tore his statement and stormed out of the room over lack of action by the global body towards the people of Kashmir, is still often cited as an example of a bold and brave leader. But being an emotional nation, we tend to overlook facts, which in many cases are hard to swallow. If oratory was the only benchmark, Pakistan, under Bhutto, would not only have liberated Kashmir but also put the country on the road to development and prosperity.

This illustrates that being an extraordinary public orator may be an added advantage for a leader but it alone does not guarantee automatic success.

The Prime Minister forcefully raised the longstanding Kashmir dispute and rightly warned the global community of a potential nuclear conflict if no steps are taken to mitigate the suffering of nine million Kashmiris held hostage by close to a million Indian army troops since August 5. But the question remains: will his address change anything on ground?

It is true to an extent that because of Pakistan’s diplomatic offensive and unprecedented coverage of international press, the US has urged India to lift restrictions on Kashmir. Alice Wells, the US President’s point person for the South Asian region, did say that Washington raised the Kashmir issue with India at the highest level. But she simultaneously stressed that resumption of talks between the two neighbours hinged on Pakistan’s efforts to crack down on alleged militant groups threatening India. This means that the US has virtually endorsed India’s stance and may not go beyond issuing statements. And the reason is very simple — Washington views New Delhi as its long-term strategic partner while Islamabad is only relevant for the Afghan endgame. The other stark reality is the economic interests the US has with India. The bilateral trade between India and US currently stands at $142 billion and our two-way trade is just merely $6 billion. Clearly, it is one’s economic strength or lack of it that determines one’s weight in global politics.

It is an open secret that Pakistan’s economy is currently in shambles. This government has no doubt inherited an economic mess, but there were expectations of positive turnaround when Imran took charge in August last year. On the contrary, the situation is worsening by the day. A recent Asian Development Bank (ADB) report says even the economy of war-torn Afghanistan would grow faster than Pakistan in the current fiscal year. The economic meltdown means that Imran’s promise of 10 million jobs, 5 million new homes and other social reforms would remain a distant dream. Therefore, it is not the powerful speeches Prime Minister Imran delivers that will determine his legacy and success on Kashmir but how he translates his word into action, something far more daunting than giving extempore statements.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30^th, 2019.

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