The ‘Pakistan first’ approach

In his maiden address to the nation, Prime Minister Imran Khan spoke at length on a number of issues ranging from fighting corruption to reforming education and health sectors and from austerity drive to restoring the dignity of the common man. However, in his 70-minute speech, the prime minister did not talk much about foreign policy. The only reference he made was about his government’s vision to seek peaceful ties with Pakistan’s neighbours. There were two explanations behind his move to overlook the foreign policy issue. (a) In his first address to the nation as prime minister, Khan wanted to stick to domestic issues concerning the common man. (b) Since he knew he would have little say on foreign policy, he did not feel appropriate to speak on it. Whatever might be the reason, the fact remains that foreign policy is a subject that Prime Minister Imran Khan cannot overlook by any means. This was the reason that within days of taking charge, the prime minister visited the Foreign Office to get the briefing on Pakistan’s external challenges.

Khan told the Foreign Office that Pakistan’s national interests must be kept supreme in dealing with other countries. Elaborating further, in his maiden press conference Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said, “I want to convey a message to the people of Pakistan that the foreign policy will begin and end with the national interests of Pakistan. My priority will be to have a national consensus on our foreign policy, by adopting a bipartisan approach.”