'Best Speech', But What Next?

By Kamran Yousaf

Express Tribune (30th September)

The euphoria is not over yet. From his admirers to his staunchest critics, from journalists to celebrities,
almost everyone has hailed Prime Minister Imran Khan’s maiden address to the United Nations General
Assembly session on Friday. His speech was even a top Twitter trend across the world. What prompted
many to shower praise on him was the manner with which he put across his perspective whether on
Islamophobia or the so-called War on Terror, or highlighting the human rights situation in IOK. His
supporters and voters have concluded that Imran Khan has truly emerged as leader of the Muslim world,
who unlike others hit all the right chords. They even drew parallels between his address and certain fiery
speeches by former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, at international forums.

There was no doubt that Bhutto was a brilliant orator. One of his speeches in the United Nations on
Kashmir, where he tore his statement and stormed out of the room over lack of action by the global
body towards the people of Kashmir, is still often cited as an example of a bold and brave leader. But
being an emotional nation, we tend to overlook facts, which in many cases are hard to swallow. If
oratory was the only benchmark, Pakistan, under Bhutto, would not only have liberated Kashmir but also
put the country on the road to development and prosperity.

This illustrates that being an extraordinary public orator may be an added advantage for a leader but it
alone does not guarantee automatic success.

The Prime Minister forcefully raised the longstanding Kashmir dispute and rightly warned the global
community of a potential nuclear conflict if no steps are taken to mitigate the suffering of nine million
Kashmiris held hostage by close to a million Indian army troops since August 5. But the question remains:
will his address change anything on ground?

It is true to an extent that because of Pakistan’s diplomatic offensive and unprecedented coverage of
international press, the US has urged India to lift restrictions on Kashmir. Alice Wells, the US President’s
point person for the South Asian region, did say that Washington raised the Kashmir issue with India at
the highest level. But she simultaneously stressed that resumption of talks between the two neighbours
hinged on Pakistan’s efforts to crack down on alleged militant groups threatening India. This means that
the US has virtually endorsed India’s stance and may not go beyond issuing statements. And the reason
is very simple — Washington views New Delhi as its long-term strategic partner while Islamabad is only
relevant for the Afghan endgame. The other stark reality is the economic interests the US has with India.
The bilateral trade between India and US currently stands at $142 billion and our two-way trade is just
merely $6 billion. Clearly, it is one’s economic strength or lack of it that determines one’s weight in global
politics.

It is an open secret that Pakistan’s economy is currently in shambles. This government has no doubt
inherited an economic mess, but there were expectations of positive turnaround when Imran took
charge in August last year. On the contrary, the situation is worsening by the day. A recent Asian
Development Bank (ADB) report says even the economy of war-torn Afghanistan would grow faster than
Pakistan in the current fiscal year. The economic meltdown means that Imran’s promise of 10 million
jobs, 5 million new homes and other social reforms would remain a distant dream. Therefore, it is not
the powerful speeches Prime Minister Imran delivers that will determine his legacy and success on
Kashmir but how he translates his word into action, something far more daunting than giving extempore
statements.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 30th, 2019.