in his speech at the UN General Assembly on September 25, the outgoing Pakistani High Commissioner in Sri Lanka, Maj.Gen (Rtd) Muhammad Saad Khattak, launched a thinly veiled attack on India in his farewell statement on Tuesday.
At UNGA, Imran Khan had accused Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi of having a plan to “purge India of Muslims” and alleged that the “worst and most pervasive form of Islamophobia now rules India.” He went on to say that “the hate-filled Hindutva ideology, propagated by the fascist RSS-BJP regime, has unleashed a reign of fear and violence against India’s 200 million-strong Muslim community.”
The usually soft-spoken and mild manneredPakistani envoy in Colombo, Maj.Gen.Muhammad Saad Khattak, surprised readers when he also attacked India. Though,unlike his Prime Minister, he avoided naming India, preferring to refer to it as “our mutual neighbor” or “our big neighbor” or “our common neighbor.”
Referring to his visits to “every nook and corner” of Sri Lanka including to the Tamil-speaking Northern and Eastern Provinces, the envoy said that he was able to do these “much to the discomfort of our common neighbor.”
Apparently, India did not take kindly to Khattak’s visit to the Tamil-speaking areas as it considers these to be “within its sphere of influence”.
Khattak further said: “I sincerely thank the Sri Lankan leadership, military hierarchy and common Sri Lankans for their wholehearted acknowledgement of our support in the critical war for Sri Lanka’s national survival. The positive endeavors to tangibly appreciate and reciprocate, however, are visibly marred by the extraordinary caution displayed (by the Sri Lankan leadership) due to the regional geo–political complexities and sensitivities of her big neighbor.”
“Notwithstanding the above, unlike her big neighbor, Pakistan remains steadfast in its tangible support for Sri Lanka, as recently evidenced during last UNHRC meeting at Geneva.”
The reference was to the perceived reticence on the part of the powers-that-be in Sri Lanka to openly and fully acknowledge the critical help rendered by Pakistan during Sri Lanka’s war against the Tamil rebels and during the subsequent pillorying of Sri Lanka at the UN Human Rights Council by the Western powers for alleged war crimes.
Bureaucracies Ticked Off
However, Khattak ticked off the Sri Lankan (and Pakistani) bureaucracy for stalling efforts to promote Pakistan-Sri Lanka economic cooperation and plans to improve trade and investment.
“The Pakistani Prime Minister’s successful visit (to Colombo) in February 2021, spoke volumes for the depth and cordiality of relations going deep into our mutual respect at people–to –people levels. Bureaucratic foot dragging (due to a variety of reasons and interests) however, remains a retarding factor in fully realizing the common vision of our leadership,” the envoy said.
Buddhist Links
Khattak stressed the Buddhist links between Pakistan and Sri Lanka which are manifested in the relics of the Buddhist-era in the Swat region of Pakistan. He said that Sri Lankan Buddhist monks have been appreciative of the efforts of the Pakistan government to preserve these relics.
“The respect, love and understanding demonstrated by the Most Venerable Monks during my frequent interactions with them across the Island, further strengthened my understanding of their positive and effective role in fostering religious harmony among followers of all beliefs in Sri Lanka. The visit of the Most Venerable Monks to Pakistan in April 2021 greatly cemented their stance about the importance our government and people accord to the preservation of Buddhist heritage in Pakistan “much against the usual propaganda by dubious and malicious media outlets originating from a neighboring country from time to time.”
The reference here is to the challenge in India to Pakistan’s recent claim that it has more to offer to Buddhist pilgrims than India. But Indians point out that the places of Buddhist pilgrimage are in India and not in Pakistan. Pakistan can only boast of the existence of an ancient Buddhist civilizational relics but the relics in Pakistan have nothing to do with the life of the Buddha, Indians contend.
Further on Pakistan’s Buddhist links with Sri Lanka, Khattak said: “A state–of–the-art documentary entitled Gandhara-Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan prepared by the High Commission is ready to be aired soon. It will surely add to strengthening our bonds, further facilitating people to people contacts.”
END
