PAKISTAN on Friday expressed concern over press releases issued by ambassadors of the European Union and other countries about the Ukraine situation and said it was against diplomatic norms.
Foreign Office spokesperson Asim Iftikhar, during his weekly news briefing, said that this attitude is unacceptable and embassies of the European countries should have avoided the inappropriate reaction.
Mutual consultations and discussions are routinely held among different countries on important bilateral and regional/global issues of concern to them.
Embassies of the countries and diplomats do engage in lobbying exercise to enlist support of the host governments for a particular issue or cause but all this is done in a subtle manner and not through the media as envoys of 22 countries did who issued a joint statement urging Pakistan to join them in condemning Russian actions in Ukraine.
The spokesperson has aptly said that Pakistan wanted balanced and broad-based relations with all countries including the United States and the European Union but it shouldn’t mean indulgence in activities that can be seen as gross interference in sovereign actions of the host country.
It is also a fact that Pakistan has not supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine and instead emphasized the need for restraint and peaceful resolution of the issues involved.
Pakistan is also aware of the impact of the conflict on the region and beyond and supports all efforts to restore peace in Ukraine.
The country decided to abstain (along with 35 other countries including regional countries of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) when the UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution denouncing Russian invasion and demanding an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine.
The abstentions are understandable as the resolution did not address concerns of Russia about expansion of NATO, which formed the basis for the on-going conflict.
A difference of approach is nothing new but diplomats from highly civilized and friendly countries like the EU are not expected to conduct diplomacy through the media.
