THIS is with reference to the letter ‘The govt doing the right thing wrong?’ (May 23), which talked about the composition of the delegation that the government is planning to send to various countries in response to the Indian government’s recent move of a similar nature. In particular, the letter questioned the nomination of Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari.

There can be no argument over the fact that the chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is a dynastic figure in national politics. He served as foreign minister in the previous government for well over a year in 2022-23. With exposure to academic life at Oxford University, the articulate politician possesses exceptional communication skills.

In previous interviews with Indian journalists, he often put them on the defensive. All these elements justify the government decision.

Indian news channels have reported that the core purpose behind New Delhi’s move to send a delegation to world capitals is to push for Pakistan’s inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist. That has been an issue of serious concern for Pakistan in the not-so-distant past.

Interestingly, in India, Congress member of parliament (MP) Jairam Ramesh stated that the government had asked the opposition party to nominate four MPs for the all-party delegation.

Congress nominated Anand Sharma, Gaurav Gogoi, Naseer Hussain as well as Amrinder Singh. Notably, Shashi Tharoor’s name was not included in the party’s official list, yet the government included him and selected him to lead the delegation.

Tharoor faced criticism from within his own party for not toeing the line and accepting the government’s proposal without consulting the party high command. However, he insisted that the whole thing had “nothing to do with party politics”.

Undoubtedly, Tharoor is a prominent, and very knowledgeable Indian diplomat and politician. After a very distinguished career at the United Nations, he joined the Indian National Congress in 2009, and is the author of numerous books.

It is too early to say whether Tharoor will succeed in this significant diplomatic mission for his country, or if Bilawal will be able to expose India before the international community. Only time will tell. But it will, indeed, be interesting to see this war on the diplomatic front.

Muhammad Usman Younas
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 25th, 2025