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sandhurst [United Kingdom]Aug. 15 (ANI): Pakistan Army Commander-in-Chief Kamal Javid Bajwa’s visit to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst is seen as Islamabad’s strategic shift from China to the West due to the country’s economic pressure.
General Bajwa is the first-ever Pakistan Army Chief of Staff to receive the honour of the Queen’s Sovereign Representative at a military parade at Sandhurst Military Academy, the equivalent of the Indian Military Academy in Dehradun.
He also reportedly met other senior British dignitaries, including senior British defence and intelligence officials. Facing a severe economic crisis, Pakistan has received no financial assistance from its close ally China. Multi-billion dollar investments in the name of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) have failed to boost the Pakistani economy. In fact, China has now stopped all financing, and Pakistan has seen the fate of Sri Lanka, which has fallen directly into a debt trap made by China.
Earlier this year, Pakistan’s army chief reached out to the US after Imran Khan stepped down as prime minister. He said the military is different from (Imran) Khan in its relationship with the United States. Bajwa also spoke about better relations with the EU and the UK during Pakistan’s political transition.
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Pakistan has been facing economic sanctions from the West for its support and financing of terrorist groups, and Pakistan’s Army Chief of Staff is trying to balance China’s relationship with the West, his priority being finding funding for a cash-strapped military.
Recently, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Islamabad reached a preliminary agreement to restart a $6 billion rescue package. Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund initially signed the agreement in 2019, but have suspended payments of just over $1 billion since earlier this year.
Many analysts see General Bajwa’s recent visit to the UK as his personal image-building exercise in the West.
Haider Mehdi, a Pakistani political analyst based in Canada, said in his video statement: “The world knows the reality of Pakistan because what is happening here is about civil rights, human rights. Martial law declared. Why invite him? To Sandhurst? Because he wants to make his own image in Western countries, but also to make General Bajwa’s image in Pakistan.
Some observers have called it a strategic shift, but many have criticized Britain for hosting General Bajwa as chief guest at the prestigious Royal Military Academy – the man responsible for human rights abuses in his country.
Exiled Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui tweeted: “If these Western powers invite someone like General #Bajwa to speak as chief guest then they are complicit in human rights #abuse in Pakistan. Shame on #SandhurstUK”.
The Pakistani army and its intelligence services are widely involved in extrajudicial executions, torture and kidnappings of political activists, intellectuals and students from different provinces of the country.
A large number of civilians have been killed by the Pakistani army due to ongoing military operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. (ANI)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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