The first Arab-Islamic-American Summit, held this past Sunday (21 May) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was nightmarish for Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his delegation. The anti-terror summit, which aims to develop a security partnership against the threat of violent extremism, saw no mention of Islamabad among countries that are at the receiving end of, as well as combating, terrorism.
Sharif was not even called on to speak at the event, even as representatives of some other states took the stage. Sharif had reportedly spent, as per the Nation report, “nearly two and a half hours” preparing for a speech that was later not to be delivered.
To make matters worse for Pakistan, the United States President Donald Trump listed India as one of the victims of terrorism. This is exactly the opposite of the narrative that Pakistan has been trying to push for years. And it has come at a time when both India and Pakistan have locked horns over the Kulbhushan Jadhav case at the International Court of Justice.
Trump also did not schedule a meeting with Sharif, even as he met Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on the sidelines of the summit.
The Riyadh summit was a two-day convention attended by 54 leaders of the Arab Islamic worlds along with the US President to discuss security co-operation and to form a possible Arab-NATO coalition.
With Inputs From ANI.