Opposition Senators Take Aim At Government's "U-turns" On Kashmir And CPEC At Davos Summit

Prime Minister Imran Khan is taking flak from opposition Senators for what the perceive as the government's “U-turn” on the Kashmir issue at the Davos summit. Similarly, objections were raised by opposition Senators on what they saw as the government failing to defend Pakistan's strategic ties with China against US criticism.

The senators claim that PM Imran Khan's statement to US President Donald Trump at Davos that Afghanistan was his “first priority” represented a step back from Pakistan's traditional foreign policy stance of placing the Kashmir dispute above all other questions. Opposition leaders claimed this was tantamount to putting the Kashmir issue on the “back-burner”, with the PPP's Sherry Rehman taking the lead in this criticism.

In a similar vein, opposition leaders led by Senators Hasil Bizenjo and Mushahid Hussain took aim at the government's perceived failure to defend the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) against statements by US administration figures. A number of comments by US administration members are being seen as highly critical of Chinese strategic involvement in Pakistan. Senator Bizenjo asked the government to clarify whether it was “rolling back” CPEC.