On March 1, the heads of 22 foreign missions to Islamabad, including those of EU member states, issued a joint letter asking Pakistan to support a UN General Assembly resolution condemning Russia’s special operation in Ukraine.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has criticized Western diplomats visiting his country’s capital Islamabad and called on Pakistan to criticize Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine last week, asking whether it thinks Pakistan is “their slave,” Reuters reported in a statement on Sunday.
“What do you think of us? We are your slaves … that whatever you say, we will do?” Khan commented while speaking at a political event.
As UNGA voted to adopt a resolution condemning Russia’s special campaign to end war and destroy Ukraine, Pakistan refused to vote, as did its political rival, India.
“I want to ask the European Union ambassadors: Have you written such a letter to India?” Khan said, according to the translation.
Khan also reportedly said Europe had failed to criticize India for Kashmir, a mountainous region where Pakistan and India fought two wars.
The prime minister added that Pakistan was “deeply saddened” by its assistance to the NATO alliance in Afghanistan, and that instead of thanking it, it received condemnation.
Khan and his superiors were criticized after they continued to visit Moscow in late February just before the announcement of a special mission in Ukraine, and a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin a few hours after the launch.
However, on Sunday, Khan reportedly said that Pakistan was “friendly to Russia, and friendly to America; friendly to China and Europe; we are not in any camp.” He went on to say that Pakistan will remain “neutral” and work with those working to end the Ukrainian conflict.
On Friday, a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman reportedly said at a press conference that “it is not uncommon for communications” that delegates make public requests as their letter, “and we have made that clear.”
“We have taken note of that and at the next meeting with the delegation, we expressed our concern about it, because as I said it is not the way diplomacy should be done, and I think they have seen that,” he added.
Some European delegates who shared a shared statement on Twitter reportedly deleted the tweets after some time.