The ongoing visit of President Zardari has been the talk of the town. I would like to mention the aspect of protocol violation during this visit. As the head of the state and a part of trilateral consultations, the meeting or press conference should be with head of the states of America. Instead U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sitting in the center speaks at the State Department with Afghanistan’s President Hamid Karzai sitting on left and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari sitting on right side. It rather seems like two puppets are acting as their master wants them to perform.
In international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state. A protocol is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines. Protocols specify the proper and generally-accepted behavior in matters of state and diplomacy, such as showing appropriate respect to a head of state, ranking diplomats in chronological order of their accreditation at court, and so on.
If we take a flash back in 1950 when the Prime minister of infant state of Pakistan visited America, American President Harry Truman greeted him at the airport. What a great official welcoming ceremony for Liaquat Ali Khan. It looked like a dignified and elegant welcome for a Head of State on equality basis.
Did Obama came to receive Zardari?
Scenario has been changed but dignity should be there. If Zardari is on a position where once Quaid-e-Azam was, how can we say Pakistan is prospering?
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