No official welcome at the airport, slogans raised against Pakistan. Imran Khan’s US visit is turning out to be a disaster

Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s series of disasters in his US visit just doesn’t seem to come to end. For his first US visit in his capacity as the Prime Minister, the events aren’t going quite as smoothly as Imran Khan anticipated. In a latest, his address to a huge gathering of Pakistanis was dampened when a group of Baloch activists raised slogans seeking justice for the region.

Imran Khan was addressing a group of Pakistanis at Capital One Arena in Washington DC when the activists caused commotion in the gallery by raising slogans. Though the security personals were asked to escort them outside the premises, the damage was done.

World Baloch Organization, dedicated to defending Baloch’s political, social and cultural rights stated that the initiative was part of its awareness campaign. Meanwhile, Baloch groups have started a mobile billboard campaign in Washington DC to seek President Donald Trump’s help in ending “enforced disappearances” in Pakistan. The massive billboards installed on a large mobile started running on the streets of Washington DC on the eve of the arrival of Imran Khan.

Ahead of his visit, 16 members of the European Parliament had written to US President Donald Trump to expressing concern for the deteriorating situation in Balochistan and requested him to raise the issue with Imran Khan.

The Pakistani Prime Minister had arrived in the US on Sunday to essentially refresh bilateral relations between the two countries after Donald Trump publicly criticized Islamabad on its lackadaisical attitude towards curbing terrorism and even cancelled military aid towards Pakistan. However, things aren’t going as per the plan.

For starters, the commencement of the visit itself was a huge embarrassment for Pakistan and the Prime Minister as no officials from the United States were present to receive him on his visit to the western nation. Imran Khan took a commercial Qatar Airways flight to the United States, only to find the US delegation absent and had to take a bus to the terminal at the Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C.

It has also come to light that 10 senior US Congressmen have written to Donald Trump to raise the issue of forced conversions, disappearances and human rights violations in the Sindh region of Pakistan.

They wrote, “We are writing to urge you to raise the issue of human rights abuses in Sindh Province with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan when you meet with him on July 22.” The application also read that “there were around one- thousand cases of forced conversions in Sindh Province in 2018 alone.” Moreover, it stated that “This is the case with forced conversions, where young Hindu and Christian girls are kidnapped and forced to convert to Islam.”

On the topic of conversion, a Pakistani national, Shaan Taseer had requested Donald Trump, “I would be very grateful if you would raise with him the issue of persecuted Christians in Pakistan – the blasphemy law and people who are suffering under this law.” To which, Donald Trump responded positively by stating, “I’ll do that”.

Imran Khan has already incurred a series of embarrassing moments, and he hasn’t even met Donald Trump as of now. He is scheduled to meet the US President in the Oval room today. Given the issues Donald Trump has decided to address with the Pakistani Prime Minister, including the disregard of human rights in Sindh and Balochistan, along with Pakistan’s association with terror; and Pakistan’s agenda for economic aid, the talks are sure to take an embarrassing turn.