Saudi football victory echoes in Diplomatic Enclave

November 22 was a day of festivity in diplomatic circles in Islamabad. It was a day when the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) shocked world football favourite Argentina in Lusail Stadium in FIFA World Cup 2022.

Lusail is the largest stadium in Qatar with a capacity to seat 80,000 spectators. Abdul Basit, a Pakistani volunteer at the stadium, told me that the stadium was overcrowded that day. After the KSA victory, jubilant Pakistani spectators on the roads flying Saudi flags had seemingly been a big crowd of Saudi fans, said Basit. Similarly, jubilant youth also celebrated the victory at different places in Pakistani cities, including Karachi. The scene was captured by Saudi-based Arab News.

By the time Saudi Ambassador to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said al-Malki shared the Arab News footage of a jubilant Pakistani crowd on social media on November 22, diplomats had already started congratulating KSA.

KSA is perhaps the only team whose victory Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif congratulated upon. The National Assembly and the Senate also congratulated the Kingdom. The Foreign Office released a congratulatory message. A considerable number of Pakistanis live in KSA and Qatar.

Ambassador al-Malki also met Esther Perez Ruiz, a representative of the International Monetary Fund in Pakistan. Before meeting Ambassador al-Malki, Ruiz had also met the Qatari ambassador in Islamabad. These meetings have gone unreported by and large, however.

52nd National Day of Oman 

The 52nd National Day of Oman was celebrated on November 18. The Foreign Office released a formal message to celebrate this day as per established practice. According to the Times of Oman, a good number of activities were organised in Muscat to celebrate the day. Pakistanis living in Oman also took part in these activities. His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik ordered that “30th November and 1st December will be an official holiday for employees in units of the State’s Administrative Apparatus (public sector), other legal entities and private sector establishments on the occasion of the 52nd National Day.”

This was business as usual. But then Capt (R) Muhammad Usman Younas took it upon himself to arrange a colourful display at Pakistan Monument to celebrate the day.

It would have been more diplomatic if the Foreign Office had owned up to this event. The debate on the concentration of powers of the chief commissioner and the CDA chairman in one man has already been very steamy in the capital.

Law experts equate his limitless powers to the viceroy of the British raj. Now, it seems that he has forayed into the realm of diplomacy, assigning himself functions of Foreign Office too. The Foreign Ministry of Oman has presented to the masses all activities of celebrations held in connection with the National Day around the world. Oman is among the few Arab countries that have functioning ambassies in Syria and Iran. The conduct of celebrations in these two hot spots was also shared by the Omani Foreign Ministry. But the Pakistan Monument display of colours by Capt (R) Younas was not. It is prudent for the Foreign Office not to leave its diplomatic functions to undiplomatic institutions like the CDA or the city administration.

Ethiopian tea and coffee on the table

Ethiopia has sent its first resident ambassador and set opened its embassy in Islamabad. Jemal Beker is the first Ethiopian ambassador.

He was hosted by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Ambassador Beker thanked Bilawal saying that bilateral “relations are flourishing & indeed prospects of enhanced cooperation btw them are very bright.”

A week before his meeting with Bilawal, Ambassador Beker had a thorough exchange in Karachi with members of a joint delegation of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) and Pakistan Tea Association.

The traders told the ambassador that they had an interest in buying tea and coffee from Ethiopia at “affordable rates”.

“There is a huge demand for tea and coffee in Pakistan, but connectivity, quality control mechanism and institutional linkages between the two countries are need of the hour,” said they.

“Currently, Ethiopian tea is coming from other channels, but we are working on different agreements in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan to enable Pakistan and Ethiopia to boost their trade in diverse areas,” the ambassador told Pakistani traders.

Malaysian flood relief 

Malaysian Embassy has issued a statement mentioning that the country has deposited 200,000 dollars in the flood relief account that the Pakistani High Commissioner has opened in Kuala Lumpur. According to the Pakistani High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur, Fo Guang Shan (FGS) Buddhist Organisation, Sin Chew Foundation and BLIA Malaysia handed over 10 tonnes of relief goods for the flood-affected people of Pakistan in a ceremony held at the FGS Temple.

There is a considerable number of Buddhist historic places that have been chipping away as a result of centuries of neglect. The Buddha caves in the Shah Allah Ditta area of Islamabad have almost been eaten up by the land mafia. Islamabad was ideally a link between Taxila, one of the origins of Buddhism, and Murree but the city has not been preserved as such.

The number of Buddhists, according to an estimate, has dropped to less than 2,000 in the country.  There is hate for them in the wake of violence against Muslims in Myanmar, in which Buddhists were involved. This tide of hate needs to be stymied.

The writer is an ICFJ fellow and teaches mediatisation at IIUI