Exclusive: Hindu Pak lawmaker lambasts national leadership for making light of norms of diplomacy

Stressing on the need for ensuring secrecy in diplomacy, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Patron General of Pakistan Hindu Council and a Member of the National Assembly, has accused the Pakistan government of making light of the norms of the diplomacy and foreign policy of Pakistan.

Reacting to Imran Khan's controversial letter issue, Vankwani said that there were certain norms and ethics governing the foreign policy and diplomacy, the foremost of which was ‘secrecy’. “There is no sign of secrecy at all. The kind of propaganda that is being done over this letter and indications of using the same to issue statements for the forthcoming elections, has any member of any political party ever considered the kind of damage that this would cause to Pakistan?” he said.

Stating that the proceedings of a diplomacy were hardly ever publicized, Dr Vankwani said that Pakistan relied on documenting the same through photography. “All we want are pictures of diplomatic activities, whereas other countries indulge in diplomacy secretly,” he said. He maintained that Pakistan was mulling a gas pipeline with Russia.

“The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) government inaugurated the Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project when there were sanctions on Iran. Iran has completed the construction work in its territory. If progress had been made on this excellent project of public interest, the power load shedding and energy crisis would not have been as uncontrollable as it is today. Rather even India would have depended on Pakistan for its energy needs,” he averred.

He charged the government with not completing that project, which could have helped Pakistan earn billions of dollars in terms of royalty from India alone. “They did not complete that project and now they are considering one with Russia,” Dr Vankwani said. Stating that the ambassadors, who had been consulted in this regard had said that Pakistan would have to suffer grave consequences on this account, he asserted that the ministers, who had pledged their support in this regard, would one day leave the Pak PM alone.

Stating that the country’s leadership had made many wrong decisions in the past, he added that it was high time to take a serious view of Pakistan and its prevailing state-of-affairs. “Let’s keep our selfish interests aside. We are because of Pakistan, our motherland. Let’s not despoil our country because of our political ego. Neither our intelligence, nor our Foreign Ministry gets the whiff of any conspiracy against our government. There is no foreign policy that would raise objections by any other country,” Dr Vankwani maintained.

Asserting that various issues could have been sorted out during his 45-minute meeting with then India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj during his visit to India after the Pulwama attack, he added that it was the lackadaisical attitude and ego of the Pakistani leadership had kept these issues pending. “The need of the hour is to form a consortium of visionary, senior politicians, who are well-versed with the nitty-gritties of politics,” he said.

He maintained that there was a dire need for a sound foreign policy to ensure a good economic policy. “We are at a national security risk because of our diplomacy,” he said, adding that incompetent advisers of PM Imran Khan were giving wrong advice to him for their personal interests and in the end, Imran Khan was likely to be left alone.