Pakistan to skip Ukraine ‘peace’ moot

Islamabad plays down X diplomacy with Delhi

ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan will not attend the Ukraine peace summit scheduled to take place in Switzerland at the weekend, citing scheduling issues of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and “other factors”.

The two-day summit will bring together heads of government and heads of states from dozens of countries to discuss efforts at brokering peace between Russia and Ukraine.

Pakistan was also invited to the conference but after due consideration it decided to skip.

At her weekly news briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch on Thursday confirmed that Pakistan won’t be attending the peace summit.

She said the decision stemmed from a “host of factors, including scheduling challenges”. “Pakistan stands for universal and consistent application of UN Charter principles, including non-use or threat of use of force, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, pacific settlement of disputes, and equal security for all states.”

“We reiterate our call for immediate cessation of hostilities and stress the need for diplomacy and dialogue for an early negotiated end to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia,” she added.

Sources said Pakistan’s decision not to attend the conference was part of its policy to maintain “neutrality”. An official part of the consultation process told The Express Tribune that since Russia, a main party to the conflict, was not invited; therefore, it was not possible for Pakistan to join the peace summit.

China, too, was extended an invitation but Beijing has already decided to stay away. Officials in Beijing questioned the credibility of the process when Russia, a main party to the conflict, was not invited.

The sources said that Pakistan usually takes cue from China on such key international and regional issues. However, observers believe that it wouldn’t be a surprise if Western countries were quietly persuaded Pakistan to attend the conference.

Pakistan adopted a carefully crafted policy to maintain a delicate balance. It has never condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and on several occasions abstained from US-backed moves to denounce Moscow at the United Nations.

Pakistan-India ties

The spokesperson said there was no exchange of letters between Pakistan and the Indian prime ministers following the election of Narendra Modi.

She also played down the exchange of messages between Pakistani leaders and the Indian Prime Minister on X. “It is customary for heads of state and government to congratulate their counterparts on assumption of their respective office and the congratulatory tweet of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was in that context.”

“You may have also seen the response from the Prime Minister of India. I would not like to give any more explanation with regards to these messages which I said are customary in nature,” she added.

Responding to the Indian media blaming Pakistan for recent attacks in the disputed Kashmir region, the spokesperson said Indian media had a habit of making such claims. “These are unsubstantiated news reports that do not merit our comment,” she said.