EDITORIAL: Acting on complaints received on the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal, Prime Minister Imran Khan chided 19 envoys posted mostly in the Gulf states in a virtual conference on Wednesday, for “shocking callousness” towards expatriate Pakistanis. “Indifferent attitude “he said, “is unforgivable, unacceptable” telling his audience to give up their “colonial mindset” and extend special treatment to expatiate Pakistanis without whose remittances Pakistan would have gone bankrupt. He was particularly critical of missions in the UAE and Saudi Arabia — where the envoy has been handed marching orders and six other diplomats recalled for not properly serving Pakistanis. No doubt, many Pakistanis, especially the working class diasporas in the Gulf states, have genuine reasons to complain about the treatment meted out to them at their diplomatic missions. Many incarcerated on flimsy charges remain languishing in jails for lack of consular assistance, which is unacceptable. It is unfair, however, to paint all diplomats with the same brush. Notably, the PM had also rebuked the envoys for not doing anything to attract foreign investments, unlike their Indian counterparts. Thanks to the efforts of the consulate in Los Angeles, however, the very next day his Adviser on Commerce Razzak Dawood announced that the e-commerce giant Amazon had decided to add Pakistan to its sellers’ list within next few days, with the PM calling it a great development.
If Imran Khan’s searing remarks caused disappointment to serving officers, disciplinary obligation prevented them from expressing the same. But three retired senior officers immediately took issue with his comments on Twitter. Former foreign secretary Tehmina Janjua expressed dismay “over the unwarranted criticism of the Foreign Ministry,” adding the remarks showed lack of understanding of the Foreign Service. Another ex-foreign secretary, Salman Bashir, averred the FSP and Foreign Office deserve encouragement and support; public critique “demoralizes the best and the brightest.” Joining the conversation, a third former foreign secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani wished “you [the PM] were properly briefed about working of missions”. In fact, as the PM had said, frequent complaints he received from overseas Pakistanis were about unnecessary delays in service, indifferent attitude of the embassy staff, lack of interest in solving problems and no formal communication channel to get information about visiting hours. All such issues are related to passport renewals and national identity cards for overseas Pakistanis (Nicop), which are handled by officers of the Directorate General of Immigration and Passports (DGIP) and Nadra, posted at foreign missions rather than the diplomatic staff. Those familiar with their style of functioning say a majority of them are rude, make applicants visit multiple times, and have no qualms about declaring them ‘not Pakistani national’, unless large sums are paid to get the needful done.
The PM is right in saying we have to make our embassies service-oriented and foreign investment attracting forums. But instead of giving the envoys a dressing down he should have held a frank discussion with them to better understand the reasons behind complaints he keeps getting on the Pakistan Citizen’s Portal. That would have informed him that he needed to hold the interior ministry – which presides over the DGIP and Nadra – accountable for posting ‘callous’ officers in foreign missions.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021