Bilawal makes history but faces tough test

ISLAMABAD:

At a time when there are multiple challenges being faced on the external front, the country was bestowed with the youngest foreign minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who finally took oath as a federal minister for the first time.

The 33-year-old followed in the footsteps of his grandfather, Zulifkar Ali Bhutto, who became the foreign minister at the age of 35. He was administered the oath by President Arif Alvi while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and other members of the coalition government were in attendance.
Few months ago, it was unfathomable that the PPP chairman could serve under incumbent PM Shehbaz.

Pivotal consultations were held within the PPP before Bilawal agreed to join the Shahbaz’s cabinet because of divided opinions pertaining to whether Bilawal, being a party chief, should serve under another party’s president.

Given the prevailing political situation and also back-to-back meetings of Bilawal with PML-N supremo and deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif, where both leaders reportedly agreed to work together for the larger good of the country and continuation of democracy, it was merely a matter of time that the PPP gave a go-ahead given the prevailing political situation.

Read more: Bilawal takes oath as foreign minister

The first thing, the newly appointment foreign minister, did was to visit the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to condole the death of a Chinese professor and teachers at the Karachi University suicide attack on Tuesday.

He later arrived at the Foreign Office along with his deputy, Hina Rabbani Khar, where he was briefed about the foreign policy issues by the foreign secretary and other officials.

Bilawal was elected member of the National Assembly for the first time in 2018 but this is his first job as a cabinet member.

Sources within the foreign office told The Express Tribune that the new foreign minister will have his hands full in dealing with multiple challenges on the foreign policy front.

The presence of Khar, who already served as the foreign minister during the last term of PPP, will help Bilawal understand the working of the foreign office.

“It appears that Hina Khar will do most of the leg work while young Bilawal will gradually learn the art of diplomacy,” said the source while referring to the Bilawal-Hina combination.

Bilawal’s first major assignment as foreign minister will be to accompany the prime minister on his visit to Saudi Arabia. Shehbaz is undertaking a visit to Saudi Arabia from Thursday and Bilawal will be part of the delegation.

The PPP chairman has taken charge of the foreign ministry when Pakistan is confronting many challenges. Some of the challenges include resetting ties with the west particularly with the United States as controversy surrounding the diplomatic cable seemed to have undermined Pakistan’s relationship with Washington.

There are signs that the new government is eager to engage with the Biden administration as the acting US ambassador after her meeting with Hina Rabbani Khar on Wednesday met Finance Minister Dr Miftah Ismail.

Also read: Bilawal struggles to defend dynastic politics during CNN interview

The Shehbaz-led government will also seek to focus on Pakistan’s relationship with the European Union, a major trading partner of the country.

Similarly, there may be a push to lower tensions with neighboring India provided that the Modi government responded positively to the peace overtures.

Afghanistan is also emerging as a major problem for Pakistan as the recent cross border terrorist attacks indicated that ties with the Afghan Taliban are not ideal.

Sources said with the right messaging and prudent approach, the new government can quickly show some progress on the foreign policy front.

“But make no mistake, it will be a tough task for young Bilawal,” commented a FO official.