A Nation in Crisis: Pakistan struggle to host SCO Summit

As Pakistan prepares to host the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, the country’s veneer of stability and progress is rapidly disintegrating, exposing a nation mired in violence, political repression, and economic turmoil.

The government’s grandiose plans for showcasing Pakistan on the world stage are being overshadowed by a series of crises that call into question not only its ability to host such a high-profile event but also its very legitimacy as a functional state. The latest terrorist attack near Karachi airport, which claimed the lives of two Chinese nationals, serves as a stark reminder of Pakistan’s persistent failure to combat extremism within its borders.^[1]

The Balochistan Liberation Army’s brazen assault on a convoy of Chinese engineers lays bare the hollowness of Pakistan’s security assurances. This incident is not an isolated one but part of a disturbing pattern of attacks targeting Chinese interests in the country. The frequency and audacity of these attacks make a mockery of Pakistan’s claims of providing a safe environment for foreign investment and diplomacy.

The timing of this attack, just days before the SCO summit, is a damning indictment of Pakistan’s security apparatus. It raises serious questions about the country’s ability to protect its citizens and the high-profile international delegates expected to attend the summit. The government’s hurried announcement of a “comprehensive security plan” rings hollow in the face of repeated security breaches. One cannot help but wonder if Pakistan is inviting world leaders into a potential war zone rather than a secure diplomatic venue.

Adding to this volatile mix is the ongoing political crisis centered around the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.^[2] The government’s heavy-handed suppression of PTI protests, including the use of tear gas, baton charges, and mass arrests, paints a picture of a regime more interested in silencing opposition than addressing legitimate grievances. The scenes from Lahore, where PTI supporters defied all obstacles to reach Minar-i-Pakistan, show a deep-seated discontent that cannot be quelled by mere force.

Perhaps most troubling is the government’s blatantly hypocritical approach to different groups within the country. The ban on the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) is a glaring example of the state’s willingness to crush peaceful, civilian protest movements, particularly those representing minority communities.^[3]

This heavy-handed approach stands in stark contrast to the kid-glove treatment afforded to known terrorist organizations like the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Pakistani establishment’s willingness to negotiate with the TTP, a group responsible for countless atrocities, while simultaneously cracking down on peaceful protesters, exposes the moral bankruptcy at the heart of the country’s governance. This duplicitous policy not only undermines Pakistan’s credibility on the world stage but also threatens to further destabilize an already fragile social fabric.

The economic crisis gripping Pakistan adds another layer of absurdity to its attempts to host an international summit. With rampant inflation, a plummeting currency, and dwindling foreign reserves, the country can ill afford the extravagance of a high-profile diplomatic event.

The recent protests in Karachi against power outages and inflated utility bills highlight the disconnect between the government’s international ambitions and the harsh realities faced by its citizens. One must question the wisdom of allocating scarce resources to host the SCO summit when basic services like electricity and water remain unreliable for large swathes of the population. The government’s priorities appear grossly misaligned, focusing on projecting an image of prosperity and stability to the outside world while neglecting the fundamental needs of its own people.

The upcoming SCO summit will likely expose its myriad weaknesses to the world rather than showcase Pakistan’s strengths. The country’s inability to provide basic security, its repression of political opposition, its contradictory approach to terrorist groups, and its economic mismanagement will be on full display for the international community to see. Moreover, Pakistan’s handling of the summit preparations raises serious ethical concerns. By inviting world leaders to a country where civilian protests are violently suppressed and terrorist attacks occur with alarming frequency, the government is potentially putting these delegates at risk. It’s a gamble that could have severe diplomatic consequences if anything goes wrong during the event.

The Pakistani government’s insistence on hosting the SCO summit in the face of these challenges smacks of dangerous hubris. It reflects a leadership more concerned with maintaining appearances than addressing the root causes of the country’s problems. This misplaced focus exacerbates existing tensions and could lead to further instability. The international community should view Pakistan’s hosting of the SCO summit with extreme skepticism. Participating nations must seriously consider whether their presence at this event implicitly endorses a regime that routinely violates human rights, suppresses dissent, and fails to protect its own citizens, let alone foreign visitors.

The summit provides an opportunity for the world to scrutinize Pakistan’s contradictory policies. The country’s willingness to negotiate with terrorist groups like the TTP while cracking down on peaceful movements like the PTM should be a matter of international concern. It raises questions about Pakistan’s commitment to combating terrorism and its definition of who constitutes a threat to national security. The economic aspect of hosting such a summit cannot be overlooked either. At a time when Pakistan is seeking international bailouts and struggling to meet its debt obligations, the expenditure on this event seems not just frivolous but potentially harmful to the country’s financial stability. It’s a clear case of misplaced priorities, with the government choosing international prestige over the welfare of its citizens.

As the SCO summit approaches, Pakistan stands at a precipice. Its attempts to paper over its deep-seated issues with a veneer of diplomatic pomp are doomed to fail. The world will see not a rising regional power but a nation in crisis, unable to protect its citizens or foreign guests, repressing political dissent, and mismanaging its economy.

The Pakistani leadership’s decision to forge ahead with hosting the SCO summit in these circumstances is not just ill-advised; it’s reckless. It risks the safety of international delegates and Pakistan’s little remaining credibility on the world stage. The potential for a major security breach or political upheaval during the summit looms large, threatening to turn what was intended as a diplomatic triumph into an international embarrassment.

Sources:

^[1] https://apnews.com/article/pakistan-karachi-explosion-bla-chinese-killed-38cddd2b80b066b1194872dc45e954e1

^[2] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/10/5/supporters-of-jailed-ex-pm-rally-in-pakistan-despite-police-crackdown

^[3] https://www.dawn.com/news/1863545

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