Donald Trump has made a successful comeback to the White House. Not only has prime minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif congratulated Trump on his victory, a seemingly beleaguered Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which is at the receiving end since the removal of the then prime minister Imran Khan from prime minister’s house through a no-confidence vote, has also hailed the US politician’s victory.
It may be recalled that at midnight, the National Assembly was adjourned to meet on 12:02 AM on 10 April 2022. 10 April 2022: The no-confidence motion was adopted with 174 votes, a majority in the National Assembly, which resulted in Imran Khan losing the confidence of the house and ceasing to hold office of prime minister. It is important to note that Imran’s supporters, including this writer, believe that Trump becoming president could tip the scales in favour of the incarcerated former prime minister.
Trump’s victory, in my view, will surely augur well for the prospects of PTI and its founder Imran Khan. It was US official Donald Lu in the Biden administration who had suggested that removing former prime minister Imran Khan from office would help improve ties between the US and Pakistan.
And Lu successfully achieved his objective. Be that as it may, President Vladimir Putin of Russia must be the most happiest person on earth at this point in time, although the Kremlin has said that he has no plans to congratulate Trump, who had pledged to end the war in Ukraine by the time he takes office on Jan 20 and described Putin as “genius” after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, on his victory.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky whom Trump had called the “greatest salesman” has congratulated the US President-elect through a message on ‘X’, saying he hopes “Trump’s commitment to the ‘peace through strength’ approach in global affairs. This is exactly the principle that can practically bring just peace in Ukraine closer.
I am hopeful that we will put it into action together.” Insofar as the Middle East is concerned, the region has changed significantly since he left office in 2021, and all the regional actors, including Saudi Arabia and Iran, are keenly watching how the new president will navigate these shifts.
Keeping fingers crossed. It now increasingly appears that all the leaders of the Middle East and North Africa in particular are keeping their fingers crossed. Last but not least, in Pakistan, the leadership of all major parties, PML-N, PPP, PTI, and their supporters must be keeping their fingers crossed.
Mehdi Hasan (Karachi)
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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