AUGUST 13, 2018 INDIA TODAY 35to the national mainstream through
the political process,” says the official,
on condition of anonymity. “Yes, he
got laughed at, but recent election re-
sults from the K-P [the terror-ridden
northwestern region ruled by Khan]
and FATA [the restive tribal areas] are
testament to his success in politically
approaching the difficult issue of the
war against terror.”
TWO STEPS, TAO
AND TRUMP
At the time this article went to print, the
US president had still not called Khan to
congratulate him on his victory, drawing
speculation that Khan’s hard appraisal
of Donald J. Trump’s controversial New
Year’s Day tweet against Pakistan—a
“hurtful” and “humiliating” example of
“scapegoating” the country for “Amer-
ica’s failure” in Afghanistan—was still
resonant in Washington.
Yet, even though his manifesto and
election campaign were remarkably
quiet about his foreign policy, Khan’s
diplomacy pointers in last week’s vic-
tory speech have gotten a resounding
two thumbs-up in strategic and mili-
tary circles. For now, he is expected to
retain the services of Ali J. Siddiqui,
the dynamic young ambassador to
Wash ington, who was appointed by the
last PML-N administration to assuage
Washington’s sanctions-happy regime.
And the ‘100-year partnership’ of
India and the US? How will Khan set
the field for that?
“India will come around, and Modi
is likely to be soft on Pakistan after
2019,” says a military official, on condi-
tion of anonymity. “Till then, Khan may
only have charismatic indu lgence with
sections of Indian media and society and
he’ll build on his ‘you take one step, we’ll
take two’ message to Delhi.”
As for China, Khan “almost sound-
ed like President Xi himself, with his
agenda of poverty alleviation, good
governance and anti-corruption, didn’t
he?” the official asks. “It’s quite evident
from Beijing’s statements that the Chi-
nese will embrace Naya Pakistan.”
Thus, the toss is won. The umpires
are not neutral. The conditions are
overcast. Yet, with Nawaz Sharif (ail-
ing from a serious heart condition) and
his fiery daughter in jail, the other side
is missing its pace attack.
Still, Pakistan has decided to go for
it and elected to bat. And Imran Khan
has promoted himself up from the mid-
dle-order, and will be opening. nWajahat Khan is an Emmy-
nominated correspondent for NBC
News and The Times, and anchors
for Lahore-based Dunya NewsTHE ZARDARI-
BHUTTOS
Benazir’s widower
Asif let son
Bilawal do all the
talking during the
election campaign.
Now, PPP will
have to play ball
in Parliament,
else the guns of
accountability
will be trained on
Zardari Sr