Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif travelled to Turkey following the devastating earthquake, but instead of paying heed to the plight of victims, ended up taking advantage of the tragedy to forward their own agenda on divisive subjects, reported Al Arabiya Post.
Even though Pakistan extended a helping hand but this did not alter how the world views Pakistan’s opportunistic behaviour.
According to Al Arabiya Post, the media’s attention has been drawn to Pakistan’s government’s callous handling of the humanitarian aid crisis both internationally and domestically. As the rest of the world raced to aid Turkey, Pakistani institutions and leaders were seen taking advantage of the tragedy to forward their own agenda on divisive subjects like Kashmir.
The Pakistani response to the earthquake ended up being a chance for corruption and exploitation by its institutions and officials, lacking genuine care for the victims in Turkey.
The administration of aid operations was fraught with deceit, with the prime minister himself at the centre of disputes. After the incident, Sharif felt compelled to visit Ankara, but the Turkish authorities strongly persuaded Pakistan to postpone the trip until a more appropriate moment.
The word of this reprimand spread like wildfire on social media channels around the world. Later there were demonstrations by ordinary Pakistanis who mocked their Prime Minister for ignoring the country’s economic woes in order to board a plane for Turkey. Sharif, however, was unable to contain his excitement for very long and left on the trip on February 16, 2022, read a report in Al Arabiya Post.
Domestic disputes over Turkey’s decision to turn a cold shoulder towards the Pakistani government occurred in the interim. Finally, Maryam Aurangzeb, Pakistan’s information minister, was held accountable for prematurely disclosing Sharif’s scheduled visit on her social media accounts.
This was made worse by the humanitarian mission’s management fraud by Pakistani authorities. According to reports, Turkish authorities said the Pakistani materials were actually aid that was given to the nation in 2022 to help with flood relief.
The course of events demonstrated that Pakistan simply intended to use the Turkish situation for tactical short-term gains. As the government had taken a large number of resources from its helpless populace for the cause, this was ironic.
State personnel in Balochistan were subjected to a 50 per cent cut from their monthly pay in February without any official orders from the government on the grounds that they were obligated to contribute to the relief. The impacted employees opposed the drastic cut, stating that the current economic crisis and historical inflation were already having a significant negative impact on them.
Also, there were allegations of corruption in the management of the funds raised for Turkish causes. The government of Pakistan has alienated itself not just from the rest of the world but also from its own people in its attempt to manage optics and international strategy at the same time, Al Arabiya Post reported.
