Shehbaz Sharif’s Tajikistan visit caps diplomatic tour amid India tensions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrapped up a five-day, four-nation diplomatic tour in Tajikistan on Thursday, aiming to bolster regional ties and challenge India’s terrorism accusations.

The tour, spanning Iran, Turkiye, Azerbaijan, and Tajikistan, came after a tense military standoff with India earlier this month. Joined by Field Marshal Asim Munir and foreign minister Ishaq Dar, Sharif sought to project Pakistan as a peace-seeking nation amid rising regional friction.

The tour’s backdrop was a May 9-10 clash. Media outlets posted on Thursday videos of Sharif, during his Azerbaijan visit, purportedly admitting to India’s preemptive BrahMos missile strikes on Pakistani military sites impeding Pakistan’s attempts to retaliate. However, neither Pakistani outlets nor Azerbaijan’s govt have confirmed Sharif’s statement about BrahMos. TOI was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the video.

Sharif’s mission was clear: counter India’s global push — visiting over 30 countries to brand Pakistan a terror sponsor, a charge Islamabad rejects. In Azerbaijan, he stressed Pakistan’s willingness to discuss Kashmir and terrorism with India, saying, “If India engages sincerely, we’re ready.” This stance, reiterated in Tajikistan, framed Pakistan as a peace broker while painting India as belligerent. Talks with Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev aimed to lock in support against India’s rhetoric.

In Tajikistan, Sharif shifted focus to economic and security ties with Central Asia, a region where India and Pakistan compete for sway. The tour, just two weeks after the standoff, reflects Pakistan’s haste to reshape its image. Yet, India’s narrative of counterterrorism retains global traction.

With a fragile ceasefire extended to May 18 hanging in the balance, Sharif’s peace calls face an uphill battle against India’s military-first approach. Meetings in Türkiye and beyond highlighted Pakistan’s reliance on allies to offset India’s influence. Still, the tour’s success hinges on whether these overtures can pierce India’s diplomatic armor.

The broader India-Pakistan rivalry played out vividly here — diplomacy and perception as fiercely contested as their borders. Sharif’s tour, while crisp in intent, navigates a murky web of unverified claims, strategic posturing, and regional ambitions, leaving the path to peace as elusive as ever.