A Diplomatic Decision.

The US, and its allies, are holding a virtual democracy summit that aims to assess the government's legitimacy in countries across the globe. As of right now, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has not confirmed Pakistan's presence at the gathAering but this could be an opportunity to rekindle ties with the US. There is no denying the fact that Pakistan needs more allies on its side-especially in the face of all the obstacles it is facing-but this may not be the platform through which this is achieved. The ForAeign Office (FO) still has time to make a decision but we are yet to see what benefits this meeting might have for us.

If Pakistan is to attend Washington's democracy summit, it would have to do so without irking China. Considering that the US threw a curveball by inviting Taiwan, Pakistan's attendance is likely to cause some level of annoyance. We run a high risk of alienating existing allies, including Turkiye which was excluded from the summit enAtirely. On top of all this, the US also invited India to the summit and considering that our relations have...