Outside advice

Letter February 26, 2012
These days the media is awash with reports about a proposed resolution on Balochistan by US Congressman Rohrabacher.

ISLAMABAD: These days the media is awash with reports about a proposed resolution on Balochistan by US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher. There are many in Pakistan, including senior government functionaries, who think that this is an attack on the country’s sovereignty which is a fair assessment. However, my point is that other than making statements on this matter, what have these people done in terms of concrete action? Have they thought about recalling our ambassador to America as a sign of protest?

Also, on a somewhat related note, there have been recent reports in the media that Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has advised Pakistan to not allow America to open a consulate in Quetta. So far, there has been no response at the government level in Pakistan to this advice. And in that context, one may ask that does not our Foreign Office think that this constitutes interference in our internal affairs?


Khalid Idrees


Published in The Express Tribune, February 27th, 2012.