US President Donald Trump had it all going for him at Sharm al Shaikh. Surrounded by applauding sycophants – sorry world leaders—from across the globe he was at his classic best. And went about giving certificates to each leader who was present, an endorsement that he has convinced himself — and correctly so—that they are all seeking from him.
Trump is perhaps the one leader who has mastered the art of heaping humiliation on a prime minister, or president, or king, even as he endorses them as being a “good friend” or having done a “great job”. And this was on full display at Sharm al Shaikh where he had gathered a varied lot to endorse his Gaza peace plan. He started by wondering – not once but a few times during his introductory remarks— why some of the world leaders had chosen to stand behind him, and not sit. Referring to the applauding lot yet again later, he reasoned that they had decided to stand behind him because perhaps they wanted to be famous!
He read through the list of attendees, giving his one line brief for each. Favourities of course were Egypt and Qatar that had helped broker the Gaza peace plan. Jordan and Indonesia were also in close attendance, but it was Pakistan that crept up from the back with the Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif being singled out by Trump to share the mike, a rare gesture indeed as the American President does not let go of the mike easily. Sharif made the most of it, gushing praise for Trump and his contribution to peace. And how he had resolved eight conflicts, including India and Pakistan. This was emphasised by Sharif, and perhaps in itself justified Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to stay away as the official Indian position is that it decided on a ceasefire on its own, and that Trump had little to do with it.
Trump literally humiliated UK Prime Minister Keith Starmer who was pushed to the sidelines even though he tried to emerge from these. When he was introduced he moved up clearly of the view that he would be allowed to speak just as Sharif had been. But Trump would have none of it and almost elbowed him back. Starmer has stood out as a Trump acolyte through his Prime Ministership, and has lost considerable support in the UK since.
It was clear from the first meeting on the Gaza peace plan that Pakistan is the new kid on the block, with the Arab ruling families working very closely with Trump to keep themselves in power. The Palestinians have seen through these countries for decades now since when the late PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat sought to bring democracy into the region which was riddled with corrupt and compromised autocrats. Today despite the genocide Egypt, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and of course Jordan have defied the will of their peoples to hold hands with Washington, the enablers of the genocide in Gaza. Turkey still wears the fig leaf that is slowly shredding with Trump taking charge.
But it is the new kid on the block that needs further analysis. The Army under a General who has promoted himself as the Field Marshal after the recent conflict with India, has been moved in just weeks into the Washington camp. Trump’s meetings with Field Marshal Amir Munir at the White House, that have turned into fulsome praise, also indicate that Pakistan is turning a full circle. And is risking its ties with China to move back into the American lap as was the case during the Cold War. It is fast becoming Trump’s weapon for Iran — and despite the current differences between the Taliban and Pakistan, the two are natural partners in the region. And it will not take much to move them back together again along with the Sunni Arab world to take positions against Iran that remains in Israel’s sights.
Sharif, who is basically a cipher in Pakistan politics, is run by Munir. Together they have trampled all opposition within Pakistan that is weaker today than ever before. The front is Sharif, the muscle is Munir who hesitates to take over formally as the fig leaf of ‘democracy’ opens more doors. For instance while Munir does the negotiations and finalises the strategy with the US, Sharif is the face who stands beside Trump when it comes to ending the genocide and restoring peace in Gaza. The entire lot at Sharm al Shaikh went along with the American position of condemning Hamas but not the genocide. They all spoke of peace through Israel’s filters, restored by the return of the Israeli hostages and a return to peace. Not a word about the massacres in Gaza, the complete destruction, the starvation, the deaths, the arrests, the torture —- complete silence.
How can peace be restored, and a nation given back its due, if those who have placed themselves on their Board of Peace do not even recognise the crime?