Afghanistan Times
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The cricketer-turned-politician and the current Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, on Sunday took a commercial Qatar Airways flight for a three-day official visit to the United States of America. Pakistan Embassy in Washington claimed that Premier Khan was received by Senior officials of US State Department – contrary to what has been appeared in video clips, and photos that show Khan was not given official protocol as other leaders upon the arrival in the US. In a major snub, there was no big welcome for Imran Khan, rather he was received by his own foreign minister. Indeed, a major embossment for Khan, who is on his maiden trip to the US during which he will hold talks with Donald Trump and reboot bilateral ties that were hit after the US president publicly criticized Islamabad for doing nothing in the fight on terror. The two first-term leaders have sparred over social media, and Trump last year suspended $300 million in aid to Pakistan over what US administration citedf Pakistan’s failure to fight terrorists on its soil. Taking note, American leadership is likely to press him during meetings, to take “decisive and irreversible” actions against terrorist and militant groups operating from Pakistani soil and facilitate peace talks with the Taliban. Moreover, Khan’s visit is also marked by protests by several ethnic and religious minorities of Pakistan, including Baloch, Sindhis, and Mohajirs. The Baloch groups Saturday started a mobile billboard campaign in America’s national capital urging President Trump to help end enforced disappearances in Pakistan. Pakistan—a state sponsoring terrorism – is even not showing mercy even to their own people. Anyway the Afghan government said that Pakistan’s PM Khan sees a stable, democratic and peaceful Afghanistan in the national interest of Pakistan. But major issues need detailed discussion and follow up. On the ground, nothing has changed as of yet. The test for the Afghan people and the government will be the momentum towards genuine and lasting peace and will be a linear process for normalization between the two sovereign states. It is shame for a country like Pakistan when its Prime Minister is not being welcomed at all. This is only because Pakistan’s deep state policy is to harbor insurgent groups and used them as its proxies. Several deadly attacks in Afghanistan that killed many innocent people were designed there. Nevertheless, the Afghan people and the government never allow anyone to disrespect or insult them. What happened to Khan is its country’s policy that lost it image in international community, and the US especially. It is time for the leadership of Pakistan to get a lesson form this affront and change their hypocritical behaviors in action and change the picture of their country from a state-sponsors of terrorists to a real fighter against terrorism.
