At a time when debt-ridden Pakistan needs an IMF bailout package, it has chosen not to attend the ‘Summit for Democracy’ hosted by the United States. According to a report by the Pakistani English daily, Dawn, Islamabad refrained from attending the event on Tuesday as it did not want to enrage its closest ally, China.
Notably, the Biden administration hosted the Summit virtually today but did not send invitations to China and Turkey– two of its closest allies.
The issue of Pakistan’s participation in the Second ‘Summit for Democracy’ in the US had been under discussion for some time, particularly because it could potentially upset its “all-weather friend” China, which had not been invited to the summit.
The decision had been a challenging one, with Pakistan weighing the benefits of participation against the potential risks to its diplomatic relations, added the report.
China would be closely monitoring these overtures as the US has already annoyed Beijing by inviting Taiwan, China’s longstanding nemesis, as per Dawn.
The Pakistani media reported that Beijing would want Pakistan to opt out of the ‘controversial’ moot but doing so will send negative signals to the US at a time when Islamabad wants Washington to be on its side to help secure a deal with the IMF.