Thursday, October 17, 2019

Saudi-Iran: Imran Is The Only One Who Can

I am a fan of Imran Khan. Imran, for decades, has been the most loved Pakistani inside India. He is like Amitabh Bachchan. Amitabh has been the most loved Indian inside Pakistan for decades. Both have seen tremendous fame. More important, both have exhibited tremendous humility in the face of that tremendous fame.

I grew up in a Nepal that knew soccer, but no cricket. So when I say I am a fan of Imran Khan, I mean Imran Khan the politician. I am a very political person. I was Barack Obama's first full-time volunteer in all of New York City. How do I know? I went to the very first meeting, and I was the only full-timer. I got to know the top 30 Obama volunteers in NYC that election cycle. A few years before that I was the only Nepali in all of America to do full-time work for the Nepal democracy movement that saw spectacular success during 19 days of April in 2006.

Imran Khan was at Columbia University in New York, I believe sometime around 2009 or after. I attended that. I asked him a question. He answered it.

As I see it, the formula for peace between India and Pakistan is fairly simple and straightforward. The same applies to Afghanistan. The formula is straightforward. But the Iran and Sauri Arabia equation is more complex. It has more dimensions. It might also look that way to me because my knowledge of that part of the world might be less. I just might be less familiar with the nuances and the details. But there are broad outlines that are clear to many people.

The number one thing is, war is out of the question. Iran and Saudi Arabia can not go to war. That option simply does not exist. It is unthinkable. An all-out war between Iran and Saudi Arabia is more unthinkable than a nuclear war between India and Pakistan. The global economy would have a heart attack.

Since Iran and Saudi Arabi are not directly talking, it is also obvious to me that Imran Khan is the only person who has any credibility to facilitate peace between the two powers. He should facilitate until the leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia finally agree to hold summit-level talks, perhaps the first one in Islamabad. The second one in Delhi, perhaps.

I believe the key to peace is the two powers getting rid of the delusion that one might bring about regime change in the other's country.

Iran would like to export its political system to the neighboring countries. And Iran does not even have that great of a political system. It is not for Iran to decide the political system in Saudi Arabia. And it is not for Saudi Arabia to decide the political system in Iran.

Let's architect a peace that will create an atmosphere of maximum trade and tourism for both Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Iran is more or less a-okay. Saudi Arabia is more or less a-okay. But Yemen is not okay. Syria is not okay. Only meaningful peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia might bring relief to the people of Yemen and Syria.

Only a few days ago, for the first time, I learned that in the UAE there is a federal parliament. The UAE has a roadmap for universal suffrage. I refrain from commenting too much on some of these countries because I stand on a base of little knowledge.

I am going to speak my mind. Whose mind am I going to speak?

That both Iran and Saudi Arabia have accepted Imran Khan as a go-between figure is a big, positive step in the right direction. The next logical step would be for Imran to play host to the leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia to hold a summit meeting in Islamabad where they can talk face to face.

After a few such summit meetings, they might agree on certain things.
  • We have no active designs on regime change in each other's countries. The politics in Iran is for the people of Iran to decide. The politics in Saudi Arabia is for the people of Saudi Arabia to decide. 
  • We will bring to an end the proxy wars in the various countries in the region. To that end we will bring all stakeholders to the negotiating table, and steer a peacful, political process so as to bring peace and stability in the region. We will specifically work together to bring peace to Yemen, Syria and Lebanon. 
  • We recognize Israel's right to exist. And we pledge to find a creative solution to the Palestine problem. 
  • We both pledge to not develop nuclear weapons. To that end we invite all interested parties, including Israel, to participate in monitoring. And we ask that Israel submit a timeline to get rid of its nuclear weapons.
  • We want to bring maximum trade and maximum tourism to each other's countries and to the region at large. 
  • We ask that all sanctions on Iran be lifted effective immediately. 




Will Imran Khan's Saudi-Iran tour ease tension in the region? Khan's visits to Riyadh, Tehran reinforce Pakistan's neutrality, analysts say, but may not be enough to solve issues......... Tehran reiterated its readiness to come to the negotiating table........ Khan met Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, late on Tuesday..... This followed a trip over the weekend to the Iranian capital Tehran to meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei......... At a joint press conference on Sunday, Rouhani reiterated an Iranian desire to resolve issues in the region through dialogue...... "Our two countries emphasised that regional issues could only be resolved through political means and dialogue," said Rouhani. "We openly welcome any goodwill gesture by Pakistan for providing more peace and stability for the whole region and we are ready to assist Pakistan for providing full peace and stability for the whole region."......... "Iran is our neighbour. Ties with Iran go a long way back," said the Pakistan PM.......... "Saudi Arabia has been one of our closest friends. Saudi Arabia has helped us when we have been in need. The reason for this trip is that we do not want a conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran. We recognise that it is a complex issue." ....... Saudi Arabia is a major Pakistani strategic ally, helping to bolster the country's foreign exchange reserves earlier this year with interest free loans, and announcing more than $20bn in new investments in the South Asian country during a high-level visit........ Pakistan is also home to a Shia Muslim minority of roughly 20 percent of its 215 million population. Shia Muslims form the vast majority of the population in Iran........

Khan offered the use of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, as a neutral venue for Saudi and Iranian leaders to meet to "iron out [their] differences".

.......... Tensions in the region have been at fever-pitch since the attacks, with the US backing Saudi Arabia's accusations of Iran being responsible, and Iran warning of "all-out war" if its territory was attacked....... Following the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month, Khan offered to help mediate between the two regional powers, who have also been battling each other through proxies in Syria, Iraq and Yemen........ Zahid Hussain, an Islamabad-based security analyst, said to expect Khan's meetings to lead to talks "is too much"........ "Khan has developed this kind of illusion about himself that he can now play a much greater role in uniting the Muslim ummah [community], but he doesn't realise that the Muslim ummah is so divided and fractured, with nothing to unite them." ......... Dorsey argued that even though Pakistan has "zilch" leverage over Iran or Saudi Arabia, it makes sense for it to pursue peace talks as a way to bolster its own position of neutrality and relations with each side individually.

Pakistan PM: Trump asked me to be a 'go-between' with Iran "What I like about him is he does not believe in wars," Khan said of the US President, speaking to CNN in Islamabad...... Khan met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on Sunday, before traveling to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, with the aim of facilitating talks between the arch rivals....... Khan said Trump had asked him last month to "try and be a go-between with Iran and the United States." ...... The US blamed Iran for last month's attacks on Saudi oil facilities and Trump slapped Tehran with new sanctions on two pillars of the Iranian economy -- the country's central bank and its sovereign wealth fund...... Describing the attack as a "dramatic escalation of Iranian aggression," Defense Secretary Mark Esper told reporters at the Pentagon last month that, while the US "does not seek conflict with Iran," it had "many other military options available should they be necessary."......... He added that a priority in his discussions with the leaders of both countries was to create a ceasefire in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition has battled Iranian-backed Houthi rebels....... The abrupt US repositioning of troops from the area has left Syrian Kurdish leaders looking for support from Syria's government and from Russia ...... "I agree that there should be the best effort to leave in an orderly fashion. But will there ever be a best way to leave, end a war? That's why I don't believe in starting wars," he said........ Khan was speaking to CNN at his residence in Islamabad, shortly after hosting an official visit from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during their five-day tour of the country........ He was well-known as a friend of the late Diana, Princess of Wales, and said in an official statement released by his office that Pakistan still bears "love and affection" for her.



at
Labels: , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)