Pakistan missing a full-time foreign minister

April 17, 2015 15:59

Different nations, it seems, have different issues when it comes to foreign affairs, specifically with the minister in charge.

Some may have a foreign minister, who may be overshadowed by an all-powerful prime minister (nudge nudge, wink wink), and some, like our immediate neighbour to the west, has other kinds of problems.

Pakistan does not have a full-time foreign minister, with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif holding the portfolio, and the was felt most during a critical foreign policy discussion in its parliament recently. The debate, points out Zahid Hussain in Dawn, was opened by the defence minister and wound up by the ubiquitous finance minister.

'It is hard to read the mind of the prime minister, but it seems he does not trust anyone even in his party,' says former ambassador Ashraf Jehangir Qazi. This appears plausible given Mr Sharif's style of governance. Some key cabinet and other vacancies are still waiting to be filled, writes Hussain.

He then goes on to conclude: With serious challenges confronting the country, we need a full-time foreign minister who must also be effective and proactive. The existing confusion and disarray in foreign policy is mainly caused by fickleness that has become a hallmark of the Sharif government.

Read the full article here.

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