Najm us Saqib<\/p>\n
Indeed, it is difficult to judge one\u2019s \u2018biggest\u2019 or greatest moment in life while one is still alive. However, Khan knew it came during his tenure as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Former US President Donald Trump explained last week why the \u2018handsome\u2019 Khan termed the 3rd of January 2020 as the biggest moment in his life. Addressing a ral\u00adly in Housten, Trump revealed that \u2018they had a Pakistan Khan, he was a great cricket player, who became the head of Pakistan\u2019s government. He said it was the biggest moment of my (Khan\u2019s) life.\u2019 During a conversation with Trump, Khan said, \u2018when I heard that Soleimani was killed, I left my of\u00adfice. I walked home. I stayed at home in solitude for one week. It was the biggest event that had ever happened to me.\u2019
\nSome smart journalists traced the dates and found out that Khan ad\u00addressed a rally in Mianwali the next day (4th Jan) and did not mention any\u00adthing about the tragic assassination. Some went deeper in their investiga\u00adtion and came to know that the follow\u00ading week did not see Khan absorbed in his \u2018solitude\u2019 relishing the assassina\u00adtion. Instead, he kept himself busy run\u00adning the day-to-day affairs of the State. Some diehard supporters are wonder\u00ading about the mode of conversation during which their leader allegedly ex\u00adpressed pleasure over a brutal death. Presently incarcerated, Khan might not have even known what one of his American friends has said.
\nThe revelation has raised a few ques\u00adtions but first, let us see who Soleimani was. Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian mil\u00aditary officer, who remained the com\u00admander of the IRGC\u2019s elite Quds Force, from 1998 till his assassination in 2020, was considered the second most pow\u00aderful person in Iran, next to the Su\u00adpreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to an American national security and in\u00adtelligence analyst, \u2018he has been in com\u00adbat his entire life. His soldiers love him. He is a quiet, charismatic guy, a strate\u00adgic genius, and a tactical operator.\u2019 Con\u00adsidered and loved in Iran as the \u2018shadow commander\u2019, he was viewed in Wash\u00adington as an enemy who \u2018made bombs that could penetrate armor, a deadly weapon against American forces fight\u00ading in Iraq\u2019, a claim that Iran denied.
\nWhat went wrong between the US and Iran before Soleimani\u2019s unfortu\u00adnate death was for them to decide and act upon it as they deemed appropri\u00adate. Whether he did what Washington claims he did, had nothing to do with Is\u00adlamabad. The assassination did not take place on Pakistani soil.
\nTo clarify Pakistan\u2019s official stand\u00adpoint, the Foreign Office had expressed \u2018deep concern\u2019 over Soleimani\u2019s death and stated that the development in the Middle East \u2018seriously threatened peace and stability in the region.\u2019 Islam\u00adabad called on all concerned parties \u2018to exercise maximum restraint, engage constructively to de-escalate the situ\u00adation\u2019 while reminding the world that \u2018respect for sovereignty and territori\u00adal integrity are the fundamental prin\u00adciples of the UN Charter, which should be adhered to\u2019. Most importantly, Islam\u00adabad stressed the need to \u2018avoid uni\u00adlateral actions and use of force.\u2019 To re\u00adinforce Pakistan\u2019s considered opinion about the assassination, then Minister of Human Rights had urged all parties to \u2018resolve issues through diplomatic means, following the UN Charter and international law.\u2019
\nIn this backdrop, it is hard to believe that the incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan was, according to the former President of the United States of Ameri\u00adca, relishing the assassination of a friend\u00adly country\u2019s beloved son, as the \u2018biggest moment\u2019 of his life. So much so that he stayed in \u2018solitude\u2019 for a full week.
\nFirst question: Why was this im\u00adportant \u2018conversation\u2019 concealed for around three years?
\nSecond question: The said \u2018conver\u00adsation\u2019 allegedly took place at the end of Trump\u2019s Presidential tenure as Joe Biden was about to assume charge as the new President. Did he receive Khan\u2019s call on his cell phone or was there any operator who connected them? As he was still the President, did anyone take note of this call?
\nThird question: The alleged \u2018conversa\u00adtion\u2019 took place between two Heads of Government on an important and sensi\u00adtive subject. The contents of the \u2018conver\u00adsation\u2019 have been revealed by a former and (perhaps) the future President of the United States. The remarks cannot be dismissed as casual \u2018political\u2019 talk to woo voters in a rally. The timing is also important particularly in view of the ongoing war in the Middle East, Iran-US relations, Pak-US relations, Pak-Iran relations and PTI\u2019s chances of getting votes from those Pakistanis who keep Iran close to their hearts. What was the real motive behind this revelation?
\nFourth question: Khan and his party are trying to gain some political space to participate in the upcoming general elections. Their focus, therefore, is some\u00adwhere else. Nevertheless, considering the sensitive nature of the subject, a clar\u00adification or a rebuttal might have been considered. Has the party decided not to say either \u2018yes\u2019 or \u2018no\u2019 and wait for the re\u00adsults of elections in the US and Pakistan?
\nFifth question: In the hullabaloo of the new dynamics of international rela\u00adtions, should the world just keep ignor\u00ading what transpired between two sitting Heads of State on a subject of impor\u00adtance to three countries?
\nAll over the world, Donald Trump is known for his interesting but mean\u00adingful remarks. Even his critics do not mind when he says something funny. If the idea was to look charming in front of some Houston-based ex-pat Paki\u00adstanis, he might have been able to bring some smiles on their faces. If the in\u00adtent was to confirm that Khan was his buddy, hence, vote for him, he might have succeeded in making the point. If he threw a trump card towards Iran in making his intensions clear on Israel, the point must have been noted in the concerned quarters particularly in Tel Aviv and Tehran. However, all said and done, the \u2018joke\u2019 has provided Khan\u2019s supporters with a vital piece of infor\u00admation. The biggest moment in their leader\u2019s life has already arrived.
\nThe writer is a former Ambassador of Pakistan and author of eight books in three languages. He can be reached at najmussaqib1960@msn.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Najm us Saqib Indeed, it is difficult to judge one\u2019s \u2018biggest\u2019 or greatest moment in life while one is still alive. However, Khan knew it came during his tenure as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. Former US President Donald Trump explained last week why the \u2018handsome\u2019 Khan termed the 3rd of January 2020 as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[12978],"class_list":{"0":"post-367869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-article","7":"tag-najm-us-saqib"},"yoast_head":"\n