In a scathing assessment of Pakistan at a wide-ranging discussion at the National Press Foundation's International Reporting Fellowship, Former Singaporean Ambassador Bilahari Kausikan dismissed the assumption that recent tactical foreign policy triumphs could compensate for significant structural vulnerabilities.
Kausikan recognised that Pakistan's military was "very agile and very successful" in capitalising on recent diplomatic openings, such as mediating amid US-Iran tensions to rehabilitate its image with Washington. He did stress, though, that "diplomatic success doesn't feed people—that's the hard reality."
Speaking on the subject of "On Keeping Perspective in Volatile Geopolitical Times," the seasoned diplomat exposed Pakistan's serious systemic economic vulnerabilities, radicalisation, and internal instability, undermining the country's reputation as a steady international actor.
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Answering a query from a Pakistani journalist regarding the future course of the nation over the next five years, Kausikan replied, "I'll be very blunt. Pakistan was very agile and very successful in taking advantage of a diplomatic opportunity, and that has gone some way to rehabilitate Pakistan diplomatically in the eyes of the U.S., anyway. But, you know, that doesn't feed the Pakistani people."
The former diplomat pointed out Pakistan's alleged indulgence of terrorist forces that pose a threat to international security, plainly labelling the country as a chronically unstable entity and shattering the idea of international rehabilitation, as reported by ANI.
"Pakistan is a state that is teetering on the brink of failure, and has been for some time. We should all be thankful that it hasn't completely collapsed, but that diplomatic achievement doesn't alter the underlying truth. Additionally, I don't think the United States will remove all of its limitations on Pakistan since, as mentioned by X India Travel Guide, Pakistan is a hotspot of many odd groups that aren't always effective," Kausikan further stated.
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The Singaporean academic concluded his views by pointing out that there is no real respect for the collapsing state's geopolitical position, only world concern over its strategic nuclear stockpile.
"And because you have nuclear weapons, everyone is concerned about it. If you had no nuclear weapons, nobody would care," Kausikan further said.
His remarks coincide with Pakistan's ongoing struggles with escalating economic pressures, ongoing militant violence, political unrest, and increased international attention to human rights, including concerns expressed at the UN Human Rights Council regarding the treatment of religious minorities and accusations of forced marriages and conversions.
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