In the 342-member National Assembly, 172 votes were needed. Since coming to power in 2018, Khan’s ideology has been anti-American. He also sought to forge closer ties with China and more recently with Russia. Khan had visited Moscow in the early days of the occupation of Ukraine and held talks with President Vladimir Putin.
The country of 22 crore people is bordered by Afghanistan to the west, China to the northeast and India to the east. Let us look at how the current situation in Pakistan, which is facing a severe financial crisis, is affecting the border countries.
Afghanistan
The relationship between the Pakistan Military Intelligence Agency and the Taliban has been strained in recent years. But now the Taliban are back in power in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is facing a severe crisis due to the economic crisis and international isolation. Qatar is the country’s main foreign partner.
“We (the United States) do not want Pakistan as a gateway to the Taliban. Qatar is playing that role, “said Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program for the Center for New American Security.
China
Khan had consistently spoken out about what China was doing for Pakistan. The $ 60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a major project connecting the two countries. Shahbaz Sharif, the younger brother of three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is likely to become the next prime minister after Imran Khan is ousted. As the leader of the Eastern Province of Punjab, he has been in direct contact with China. Some observers have suggested that Sharif could improve relations between Pakistan and China better than Imran Khan.
India
Since independence in 1947, there have been three wars between neighboring India and Pakistan. Two of them were about Kashmir. Border tensions between the two countries have been minimal since 2021. But there have been no formal diplomatic talks with Imran Khan, who has been sharply critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a number of issues, including attacks on Muslim minorities in India.
Karan Thapar, an Indian political commentator close to India – Pakistan relations, said the Pakistani military could put pressure on the new government in Islamabad to forge a successful ceasefire in Kashmir. Pakistan’s army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa had recently said that India was ready to move forward on the Kashmir issue if India agreed. The Sharif dynasty has been at the forefront of efforts to negotiate peace with India for years.
United States
At a time when Ukraine is in the heat of war, US President Joe Biden should not be considered to care about the political crisis in Pakistan. But US-based South Asian observers say the United States will only intervene if India has any problems with the Pakistani political crisis. Imran was far behind in maintaining US relations. Curtis, who served as senior director of former US President Donald Trump’s South Asian National Security Council, said Khan’s visit to Moscow during the Ukraine – Russia war was a “tragedy” and hoped the new government in Islamabad would improve relations with the United States “to some extent.”
Read the most reliable news, live information, world, national, Bollywood, sports, business, health and lifestyle news on News18 Malayalam website.