by B. R. GOWANI
Khan complained: “busy” Biden never called him to discuss Afghanistan
Khan’s National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf told the Financial Times:
“The president of the United States hasn’t spoken to the prime minister of such an important country who the US itself says is make-or-break in some cases, in some ways, in Afghanistan — we struggle to understand the signal, right?”
US Senator Lindsey Graham criticized Biden
How do we expect our withdrawal from Afghanistan to be effective without coordinating with Pakistan? Clearly the Biden Administration believes that our problems in Afghanistan are behind us.
the White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki’s response to a reporter:
To be in touch directly with the — with the leader of Pakistan? We have been in touch at very high levels with leaders in Pakistan from the State Department, from the Department of Defense, and from other key components of the administration.
The President has not spoken with every foreign leader at this point in time; that is absolutely true. But he, of course, has a team — an expert team deployed to do exactly that.
the Pakistani person(s) the US is interested in is/are military generals
many Pakistani generals have a soft corner for the United States
arms and ammunition, training, safe haven for keeping money, and so on
Imran Khan met Russia’s Putin the day his forces invaded Ukraine
Khan’s reasons for his Russia visit
“We went there [to Russia] because we have to import 2 million tons of wheat from Russia. Secondly, we have signed agreements with them to import natural gas because Pakistan’s own gas reserves are depleting.”
Western diplomatic missions in Pakistan entreated
“As heads of missions to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, we urge Pakistan to join us in condemning Russia’s actions and to voice support for upholding the U.N. Charter and the founding principles of international law.”
as was expected, the US embassy in Islamabad tweeted:
“Standing with our colleagues.”
have Western diplomats ever condemned leaders visiting the US
when the US warred in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Iraq, Korea, etc.
Khan is wrong on several issues and have made many mistakes
but some of the things he’s absolutely right about
those right things the West is in no mood to hear or to rectify
his United Nations speech highlighted the plight of poor countries
What the East India Company did to India, the crooked ruling elites are doing to developing world – plundering the wealth and transferring to western capitals and offshore tax havens.
And Mr. President, retrieving the stolen assets from the developed countries is impossible for poor nations. The rich countries have no incentives, or compulsion, to return this ill-gotten wealth, and this ill-gotten wealth belongs to the masses of the developing world. I foresee, in the not-too-distant future a time will come when the rich countries will be forced to build walls to keep out economic migrants from these poor countries.
I fear a few “wealthy islands” in the sea of poverty will also turn into a global calamity, like climate change.
The General Assembly must take steps meaningfully to address this deeply disturbing, and morally repugnant, situation. Naming and shaming the ‘haven’ destinations and developing a comprehensive legal framework to halt and reverse the illicit financial flows are most critical actions to stop this grave economic injustice.
And at a minimum, the recommendations of Secretary General’s FACTI panel should be fully implemented.
the US didn’t like at all his comment when it quit Afghanistan
“[Afghans had] broken the shackles of slavery.”
Imran Khan had also spoken out against World Bank’s ICSID
(International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes)
the thugs at ICSID ordered Pakistan to pay $11 billion to Australia’s TCC
because Pakistan had denied mining rights to Tethyan Copper Company!
Pakistan’s Supreme Court: TCC violated several mining & contract laws
economist Jeffrey D. Sachs noted the strange world we live in
“In a normal world, the Court’s judgment would be respected absent proven evidence of corruption or other wrongdoing against the justices. But in the world we actually inhabit, the so-called international rule of law enables rich companies to exploit poor countries with impunity and disregard their laws and courts.”
i.e., the country’s law is superseded by the World Banks’ ICSID law
US and West sees that investors have more power than other countries
Manuel Perez-Rocha tells us how the decision was reached
“Three private judges behind closed doors, to be clear.”
(the $11 billion fine was waived after TCC was allowed to work)
Imran Khan was trying to end 23 bilateral investment treaties
on April 10, Khan was removed through vote of no confidence
Khan claimed that it was an US engineered ouster
he pointed finger at Donald Lu
Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Affairs
the US, which never accepts such accusations, of course, denied it
historian Tariq Ali doesn’t rule out the US role in ousting Khan
Imran is saying, “The Americans got rid of me.” Well, they may have. We don’t know. And by the way, there’s never paper evidence when the United States decides to remove a regime, except general 15 years later, unless WikiLeaks releases it. So it’s not impossible that the United States expressed displeasure, because Imran had described the 20-year occupation of Afghanistan as an American mess. That didn’t please the State Department. On the Ukraine, he took a position similar to that of India and China. That didn’t please the United States. And General Bajwa — you know, talk about democracy — General Bajwa issues a foreign policy statement clarifying Pakistan’s position on Ukraine the same week. So it wouldn’t surprise me if the United States said he’s becoming a nuisance or something like that. I mean, they’re well known to topple governments all over the world.
Lu himself seems to accept the charges
answering The Hindustan Times, Lu said the following:
“We are following developments in Pakistan and we respect and support Pakistan’s constitutional process and the rule of law”
Lu is lying — US doesn’t give a shit about constitution or laws
let’s say the US is not involved in Khan’s removal
but if the no-confidence vote had failed to garner enough votes
would the US had let Imran Khan rule without any trouble
NO
India has almost seven times more population than Pakistan
it’s economy is stronger and has much more reserve currency
yet, the US is putting immense pressure on India to condemn Russia
the US and European countries are asking India not to buy Russian oil
it’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar replied without mincing words
“If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe,” he said, and after pausing dramatically as if making a mental calculation, he added, “Probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon. So you might want to think about that.”
US Deputy National Security Adviser Daleep Singh warned India
“We would not like to see mechanisms that are designed to prop up the rouble [Russian currency] or to undermine the dollar-based financial system [i.e., the US hegemony] or to circumvent our financial sanctions.”
the US needs India for its huge market
besides, it wants India on its side, to create trouble for China
Pakistan has not much use for the United States any more
the US would have signaled the Pakistan army to remove Khan
the army in Pakistan is “a hegemonic force“
it controls the national security, defense, and foreign affairs
Bangladesh abstained from condemning Russia at the United Nations
it changed its stance after US goon Victoria Nuland visited Bangladesh
B. R. Gowani can be reached at brgowani@hotmail.com