Washington: In a major embarrassment for Imran Khan, the Pakistan prime minister received no official welcome when he landed in the United States on Saturday. Khan was accompanied by foreign secretary Sohail Mahmood and commerce advisor Abdul Razzak. Khan travelled by a commercial flight, Qatar Airways, instead of a private jet, to cut down expenses. He was received at the airport by his foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and a large number of Pakistani Americans. The highest-ranking US official present at the airport was reportedly a protocol officer. Khan in his maiden trip to the US was accompanied by chief of the Army Staff Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Director General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He took a metro ride to the Pakistani envoy’s house.
The relations between Pakistan and the US have remained tense during Trump's tenure. The US president went on to say it publicly that Pakistan has given us "nothing but lies and deceit" and also suspended security and other assistance for backing terror groups. Pakistan's recent efforts have been appreciated for facilitating peace talks with the Taliban. Actions like launching of cases of terror financing against Hafiz Saeed, head of the Jamaat ud Dawa are signals aimed at addressing concerns by India and the US.
Khan's visit to the US is also marked by protests by several ethnic and religious minorities of Pakistan, including Baloch, Sindhis and Mohajirs. While Khan was addressing a huge gathering of Pakistanis residing in the US at Arena One in Washington DC, a group of Balochistan activists disrupted the event and raised slogans seeking justice for the region.
The Baloch groups began a mobile billboard campaign in America's national capital urging President Trump to help end “enforced disappearances” in Pakistan. A bipartisan group of 10 influential American lawmakers asked President Trump to raise the issue of human rights abuses in Pakistan's Sindh province in his meeting with Khan. To which Trump replied, "I'll do that."
Khan meets IMF & World Bank chiefs
Khan, meanwhile, held separate meetings with IMF chief Christine Lagarde and World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva and discussed the cash-strapped country's efforts to tide over the financial woes. Pakistan is seeking $8 billion from IMF to bail itself out from a severe balance-of-payments crisis.
After the meeting, Lagard tweeted that she was glad to meet Khan in a meeting where a comprehensive policy package was discussed to alleviate Pakistan's economy. "We discussed prospects for a comprehensive policy package and international financial support to help stabilize the economy of Pakistan, and also the need to strengthen governance and protect the poor," she said. An IMF team is scheduled to arrive in Islamabad later this month for a round of talks.
Meanwhile, the World Bank pledged to further strengthen cooperation with Pakistan, in a meeting between Khan and the global lender's top official. Georgieva assured of further strengthening cooperation with Pakistan in the areas of disbursements programme lending and guaranteed provision for raising external funds. Khan informed her about the recent steps taken by his government to improve Pakistan's economic and fiscal situation. He also apprised the official about the socioeconomic measures taken by the government to lift the people out of poverty. He appreciated the role played by the World Bank in regional connectivity, poverty alleviation, financial management, infrastructure projects and ease of doing business.
