Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa’s visit to the United States weeks before his scheduled retirement is being seen as part of Pakistan’s efforts to repair its strained relations with the country in light of former prime minister Imran Khan’s “American conspiracy” narrative.
On Tuesday, General Bajwa met with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. A statement by the Pakistan military said that the “regional security situation” was discussed during the meeting. The Pentagon stated that the discussion was “focused on opportunities to address key mutual defence interests”.
Kamran Bokhari, a Washington-based foreign policy analyst, thinks the purpose of General Bajwa’s visit was to ‘pass the baton’ and reassure the Americans that these efforts to improve ties will continue. “Even before Imran Khan’s ouster, General Bajwa visited countries that Khan was upsetting such as Saudi Arabia, and tried to fix diplomatic hiccups that the then PM had caused,” Bokhari tells India Today, adding that General Bajwa is doing the same after Khan’s ouster, but with much more vigour.
“He was in DC to tell the Americans that it is in their interest to do business with Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, the army chief put the rumours pertaining to his extension in service to rest while addressing a gathering at Pakistan Embassy in DC when he announced that he would retire in November. Kamran Bokhari says this confirms that COAS Bajwa came to the US to introduce his potential successor to the Americans in DC. The army chief was accompanied by Chief of General Staff Lt Gen Azhar Abbas — who is one of his likely successors, notes Bokhari.
Husain Haqqani, former Pakistan ambassador to the US, agrees that General Bajwa’s visit is continuation of Pakistan’s efforts to undo the damage caused by Imran Khan’s rhetoric. “The regime change narrative peddled by Khan negatively impacted US-Pak ties, but the civil-military leadership in Pakistan is determined to repair the damage,” he says, adding that foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was also focused on rebuilding ties during his engagements in the US.
Pakistan’s efforts to rebuild ties
Kamran Bokhari says the US is going through a learning phase when it comes to Pakistan, and the recent comments made by US officials confirm that Washington is ready to redefine its relations with the country.
“There has been some learning on the Pakistan side as well, and General Bajwa’s desire to shift from geopolitics to ‘geoeconomics’ which became a buzzword reflects the changed thinking,” he adds.
Referring to General Bajwa’s attempts at damage control, Bokhari says it was ironic that the military that once enabled Imran Khan is now trying to rationalise foreign policy after he accused a sitting Assistant Secretary of State of conspiring to oust him from power.
Last month, Pakistan’s new foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met US officials, including Secretary of States Antony Blinken, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session. In his interviews to American media during his visit, the foreign minister reiterated that the two countries were entering a new engagement, terming his meetings with US officials “encouraging”. FM Bilawal also called for sustained assistance for flood relief, and apprised US officials of the devastation caused in the country.
This article first appeared on India Today.
