Trump royally snubs Imran Khan and his reporters who were trying to put words in his mouth

It seems like Pakistan, Imran Khan and misery go hand in hand and the misery is continuing to pile on the Prime Minister of world’s terrorist capital. On Monday, US president Donald Trump during a joint press conference with the Pakistani PM on the sidelines of United Nations summit, mocked a Pak journalist who was singing Pak propaganda saying “Are you a member of his (Imran’s) team? You are making a statement, not asking a question.“

The ill-disciplined Pak reporter tried to stir the controversy again by asking another question but was very well shut down by Trump who told him “make a very small, one-second statement” despite that the reporter went on with his false Kashmir rhetoric to which Trump very animatedly took a jibe at  Imran Khan and asked, “Where do you find reporters like these?”. Imran tried to shrug it off but it was evident if the earth were to crack wide open, he would have buried himself in it as he looked visibly flustered and embarrassed but it is something that Pakistani PM has come to face on a daily basis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmpaaR79bq8

Guess you can say it’s the occupational hazard of the job and humiliation is something which he has made his peace with. With Pakistan’s economy crumbling and inflation at an all-time high, Khan has had a tough time in  Pakistani politics where in reality he is the meek puppet of the ISI-backed army. One of the Pak television channel which was airing the press conference had to cut short it when Trump made a fool of Khan and his aides.

Going by the Trump-Imran presser, where Trump skilfully tackled every question on Kashmir despite Pakistani PM and journalists pleading and trying hard to catch his attention. It looks like the US president was not willing to attend to the issue, reiterating India’s stance of Kashmir being an internal matter of India. “You have to have two parties that want to agree. At some point, India may come. I have a very good relationship with Prime Minister Modi. I have a very good relationship with Prime Minister Khan, and if at any time they say, you know, we have some points that we can, maybe, iron out, I think I’d be an extremely good arbitrator,” said Trump responding to the questions about him mediating between India and Pakistan on the issue of Kashmir which he very diplomatically played it down. He had to say Pak was a “good friend” because of the obvious diplomatic reasons but any literate person can read between the lines and understand the sarcasm in Trump’s voice.

Donald Trump also praised PM Narendra Modi’s aggressive statement against terrorism at Sunday’s ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event, in the presence of Pakistan PM Imran Khan. Trump said that PM Modi’s statement was very well received in the room of 59,000 people. Moreover, during Howdy Modi, Trump had tweeted – “The USA Loves India”, something he would never do for Pakistan. The Howdy Modi show was a rousing success where Donald Trump-Narendra Modi bonhomie was on full display and the boisterous diaspora of India-Americans cheered every bit of the Modi spectacle.

Pakistan should learn that trade and strong-economy earn you friends whereas terrorism and duplicity earn you absolutely nothing. Resorting to such childish antics is only bound to hurt their own-cause further and degrade their already dismal PR on the global map.