Pakistan needs to get serious in Public Diplomacy, says Ambassador Abdul Basit
January 28, 2021
Islamabad, Pakistan: Former Ambassador and Foreign Affairs expert Abdul Basit has said that Pakistan needs to get serious in Public Diplomacy.
In a conversation with Dispatch News Desk (DND) News Agency, Ambassador maintained that unfortunately, our (Pakistan) Foreign Office has no emphasis on Public Diplomacy.
Some important points of his conversation with DND are hereunder:
In the contemporary era, the use of social media as a tool of Public Diplomacy gains significant importance. As, there was a time when only national TV, radio, and newspapers were the most effective tools of public diplomacy. However, things changed altogether with the emergence of social media.
Implement ICJ judgement: India tells Pakistan over consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav Geeta Mohan
India on Thursday asked Pakistan to first implement the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in order to accord Kulbhushan Jadhav a fair trial.
Speaking at a weekly press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said that the Pakistan government failed to create an environment where allegations against Jadhav can seriously and effectively be challenged. Government of Pakistan has failed to create an environment under which the allegations against Shri Jadhav can be seriously and effectively challenged, he said.
He added, They [Pakistan] need to implement the ICJ judgement in its letter and spirit and this includes provision of all relevant documents to the case as well as providing unconditional, unhindered and unimpeded consular access to Shri Jadhav.
In a statement issued later, Republic TV said it rejected the allegations made by the Pakistan government against Goswami. The Pakistan government’s statement, it said, was “proof of the deep-conspiracy of anti-India and anti-national forces” against Republic TV.
The Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed, was organised by the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed. In retaliation, India had undertaken airstrikes against the terror group’s camps in Pakistan’s Balakot.
The Pakistan Foreign Office was referring to purported WhatsApp conversations between Goswami and former Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) chief executive Partho Dasgupta, which have been recorded as part of the Mumbai Police’s charge sheet in the ‘TRP scam’ case.
Tribune News ServiceNew Delhi, January 17
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor has said the leaked Arnab messages demand serious inquiry.
“The leaked WhatsApp chats reveal three reprehensible things
Updated Jan 18, 2021 · 09:41 am Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami. | Screenshot/Facebook
Pakistan on Sunday said the February 2019 Pulwama attack was a “false flag operation” staged by India’s Bharatiya Janata Party government to malign its neighbour’s image. Pakistan cited the purported WhatsApp chats of Republic TV Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami, which suggested that he had prior knowledge about the Balakot airstrikes.
On February 26, 2019, the Indian Air Force carried out a strike targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammad training camp in the Pakistani town of Balakot. The attack was billed as India’s response to an attack on February 14, 2019, in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed after an explosive-laden car driven by a suicide bomber rammed into their bus.