Pakistan has denied an invitation to the so-called “Summit for Democracy,” which the United States is hosting and which Russia and China have warned will exacerbate world divisions.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office declined the invitation to the summit, which will be held online on Thursday and Friday, without giving a reason in a brief statement released on Wednesday. After days of internal discussions, the decision was made.
“We are thankful to the US for inviting Pakistan for participation in the Summit for Democracy, being held virtually on 9-10 December 2021,” the Foreign Office said in a statement. “We remain in contact with the US on a range of issues and believe that we can engage on this subject at an opportune time in the future.”
Over 100 heads of state have been invited to the White House. Pakistan was one of only four South Asian countries invited to the summit, along with India, the Maldives, and Nepal.
China and Russia were not invited by US President Joe Biden’s administration, but the self-ruled island of Chinese Taipei was, prompting Beijing to express its displeasure.
The rare Pakistani refusal came at a time when relations between Pakistan and the United States appear to be deteriorating, owing to differences in the so-called war on terrorism and a variety of other issues, including the Taliban-led Afghanistan and Pakistan’s growing strategic partnership with China.
Since taking over the White House in January 2020, Biden has not spoken to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. In August, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif informed reporters that he was not “waiting” for Biden’s call.
Despite the fact that Pakistan is among the top ten countries affected by climate change in recent years, Biden did not invite Pakistan to a Leaders’ Summit on Climate in March.
On November 26, China and Russia issued a joint statement condemning the upcoming conference. Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov and his Chinese counterpart, Qin Gang, wrote a joint op-ed in the National Interest, an American bimonthly published by the Center for the National Interest, criticising the US for imposing its own interpretation of democracy on the international community and inviting like-minded allies to the so-called summit.
In a 74-page paper titled “Ten Questions for American Democracy,” the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China denounced the American interpretation of democracy.
