G20 Summit triumph: India's diplomatic brilliance shines on the global stage as Pakistan grapples in shadows

On the eve of the Delhi G20 summit which was held on 9-10 September, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch began her weekly media briefing on 8 September by seeking to turn the attention of G20 leaders to the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. She referred to the staple and stale Pakistani charge of “grave and systematic violations of human rights” there. This was an attempt to shift the attention of G20 leaders who had gathered in Delhi from the summit’s agenda and their desire to upgrade their ties with India. The summit’s success showed its pathetic and miserable failure. Indeed, Pakistan’s most respected daily Dawn indirectly noted this in its editorial on the G20 summit on 12 September. It wrote, inter alia, “Pakistan must also realise that despite India’s atrocious record on human rights in held Kashmir, the West, as well as out Muslim brothers, seem least concerned and are eager to do business with India. The sad reality is that in the international arena economic heft overshadows morality”. The term ‘held Kashmir’ used by Dawn is, of course, wrong and untrue; what is true is that parts of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir and of Ladakh are under Pakistan’s illegal and forcible control. The charge of human rights violations too is not accepted by the international community which is fully aware of Pakistan’s continuous involvement in promoting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. This stated, what is significant is that Dawn focused on Pakistan’s general lament: that even staunchly Islamic states have really abandoned what it terms as the “Kashmir cause”. Yes, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) routinely issues statements on Jammu and Kashmir but in practice these have become — indeed they more or less always were – ritualistic. They have not impacted the desire of Muslim countries to improve their ties with India either in the past or now. Baloch advised this country “As India hosts the G20 summit and presents itself as an important player on the global stage, it should honour its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian laws…”. This was particularly rich coming from a country which is in the midst of multiple crises which include the conduct of its military in its national life. Also, the Pakistan’s military’s record of genocide in what was then East Pakistan and is now Bangladesh and its current brutalities in Balochistan is despicable. What the Pakistan Foreign Ministry would not have missed is that India had invited Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as one of the honoured guests for the summit. The fact is that perceptive Pakistanis have noted that while India’s stature has risen in the world and its voice is being heard with respect Pakistan is being looked upon with increasing impatience. Its economy has been driven into the dust because of the cumulative and decades long impact of its obsession and inimical approaches towards India. These approaches have led to continuous enhanced expenditure on defense instead of development. While India was hosting a successful G20 summit Pakistan remains under a caretaker government and in a state of flux. Worse still, Pakistan’s great strategic success of 2021 when the Afghan Taliban militarily retook Afghanistan with Pakistan’s assistance, is turning sour. Kabul is determined to pursue independent foreign policies, including towards India and also continues to assist the anti-Pakistan Army Tehreek-e-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP). Writing in the Pakistani newspaper The News its columnist S Qaiser Shareef perceptively noted that the G20 Summit “has placed India as a global leader in an important relationship with the US and the West” but without compromising its ties with Russia. Shareef also wrote that India had compelled the US to accept “watered down language” on Ukraine even as it continued to do business with Russia, including purchasing hydrocarbons. He also wrote that the West had avoided commenting on the Indian government’s approach to human rights. These comments once again show that thinking Pakistanis, whether in the country or abroad, are noting the vast gap that has developed between India and their own country. The G20 Summit and India’s success in bringing about a successful summit declaration despite the great differences on the Ukraine issue has further underlined the enormous chasm that now exists between India and Pakistan in global perceptions. It is impossible though this will bring about any introspection in the approaches of the generals who control generally the destiny of the country and specifically its India policy. They will continue to be wedded to the two-nation theory and the narrative that India is a perpetual threat and therefore an eternal enemy. This also serves the army’s corporate interests and allows it to fatten on the back of the country’s poor. The announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor attracted attention in Pakistan. This was natural because of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which is a priority for China as part of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). In the context of the corridor which aims at linking India with West Asia and Europe the Dawn stated “Geo-economics and geopolitics are also at play” for this route is now going to compete with the BRI and Russia’s North-South corridor. This is true. Connectivity links that are being developed are an inherent aspect of the over-arching issue of the present times: the rise of China and Western attempts to contain it. What is significant for Pakistan in all this is that by turning its economic back on India (as yet) it is denying itself the advantages of a large and growing market in a neighbouring country. Its economy can ill afford this policy but economic factors do not Impact the generals even though former army chief General Qamar Bajwa had stressed the importance of geo-economics for Pakistan. The Delhi G20 summit has further brought home to many Pakistanis that its India policy is counterproductive. This fact was also underlined by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman who stayed back in India after the summit for a state visit on 11 September. He flew back to the Kingdom directly without stopping in Pakistan even for a few hours. This does not mean that Saudi Arabia does not value its ties with Pakistan but it does show that it is conscious of Indian sensitivities and is aware of the economic, political and diplomatic importance of this country. Mohammad bin Salman’s decision, even though Pakistan is in flux and has only a caretaker government would have tremendously hurt Pakistani sentiments. The writer is a former Indian diplomat who served as India’s Ambassador to Afghanistan and Myanmar, and as secretary, the Ministry of External Affairs. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost_’s views._ Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.