Less than a week before Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was scheduled to begin his trip to Colombo, Sri Lanka cancelled his address to the country’s Parliament. The official reason cited by the Sri Lankan government is that the decision was made due to “COVID-19 constraints”. Despite this cancellation, the Pakistani premier will still arrive in Colombo on February 23, making him the first Head of Government to visit the island nation since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. During his two-day visit, he will participate in the “Trade and Investment Conference” and the inauguration ceremony of the Sports Institute.
Responding to these reports, the spokesperson of the Pakistani High Commission in Colombo said, “The [Prime Minister’s] address in [the Sri Lankan] Parliament was not confirmed in the first place, it was being discussed.” However, last month, the speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament had announced the confirmation of the address during a party leaders’ meet. Moreover, the invitation given by the Sri Lankan side to Khan to address the Parliament was also applauded by several senior Pakistani officials.
This decision also comes as a major disappointment to several Muslim leaders in the country, who were expecting the Pakistani Prime Minister to represent their voice before the Parliament. Following reports announcing his address, the President of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka, N.M Ameen, said, “The community wishes to welcome a great Muslim leader who is coming as his country’s prime minister for the first time. He is in a vantage position to speak on behalf of the Sri Lankan Muslims.” In recent times, the Muslim community has been enraged about the Sri Lankan government’s refusal to allow Muslim victims of the pandemic to proceed with burials in accordance with their religious procedure. However, just last week, the Sri Lankan government announced its decision to introduce a policy allowing members of the community to proceed with the burials, a decision which was celebrated by Khan himself. Nevertheless, no formal policy on the issue has been introduced yet.
The decision to revise the premier’s itinerary also comes less than a week before the Sri Lankan government faces the scrutiny of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the atrocities committed during the civil war that ended in 2009. This is particularly relevant as Pakistan is a member of the council and the Sri Lankan side’s decision could impact Pakistan’s position on the issue. This is also a dent in the long-lasting friendship between the two countries, which have seen close relations in the areas of trade, commerce, culture, and defence. In fact, during the civil war, while several countries had imposed trade embargos on Sri Lanka, Pakistan continued to maintain close trade ties and had even assisted the government by providing military and intelligence support against the LTTE.
For India, which is closely following Khan’s visit to Sri Lanka, this comes as a sign of relief, specifically since reports suggested that the Pakistani premier intended to raise the Kashmir issue before the Sri Lankan Parliament. This was in pursuance of Pakistan’s continued effort to garner international support for its position in the Kashmir conflict, specifically following the abrogation of the special status enjoyed by the state of Jammu and Kashmir. While the official explanation of the decision to cancel the address continues to be COVID-19 related, several officials familiar with the issue said that the decision was made considering the implications of the Kashmir controversy being raised in his speech at the Parliament. Through the decades of conflict between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, Sri Lanka has continued to maintain close relations with both rival nations and has refrained from commenting on the issue.
Sri Lanka Cancels Pakistani PM Imran Khan’s Address to Parliament
Just days before Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was set to visit Colombo, Sri Lanka cancelled his scheduled address to the country’s Parliament, citing “COVID-19 constraints.”
February 18, 2021
SOURCE: REUTERS