Barack Obama will be visiting India for a second time as US President in January —and will be skipping Pakistan for a second time.
Apparently recognising that Pakistanis will be miffed over the perceived slight yet again, Obama spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, barely hours after he conveyed his acceptance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation to be the chief guest at the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
And Sharif, to be sure, promptly reminded Obama of the request pending with him to visit Islamabad.
Obama, according to a Pakistani statement, assured Sharif that “he would undertake a visit to Pakistan at an early date, as soon as the situation normalizes in the country”.
“Recalling his invitation extended in Washington, the Prime Minister conveyed the expectation of the people of Pakistan to welcome President Obama to Pakistan sometime in the future,” the statement said.
A brief White House readout on the conversation made no reference to Sharif’s renewed invitation or Obama’s assurance of an early visit.
The last US presidential visit to Pakistan was by George W Bush in March 2006 following his visit to India. And the one before that by Bill Clinton in March 2000 also followed his India visit.
In recent years, however, the United States has consciously moved towards “de-hyphenation” in respect of its foreign policy approach to India and Pakistan.
Even so, Sharif was not one let things rest there as he sought to involve the United States yet again in Kashmir affairs by urging President Obama to “take up the cause of Kashmir with the Indian leadership, as its early resolution would bring enduring peace, stability and economic cooperation to Asia”.
Sharif also sought to complain to Obama that India’s “unfortunate steps” of cancellation of Foreign Secretary level talks and “unprovoked firing” across the loC indicated that New Delhi was “averse to normalisation of relations with Pakistan”.
The White House readout, in contrast, contained no reference to Pakistan’s pet peeves. Instead, the statement confined itself to noting that the two leaders discussed “efforts to advance shared interests in a stable, secure, and prosperous Pakistan and region”.
“The two leaders reiterated their commitment to combat terrorism and extremism and to promote peace and stability in the region. The President welcomed Pakistan’s improved relations with the new Afghan Government,” the White House statement added.