Ex-Lanka President Rajapaksa’s Pakistan visit sounds like a plan: Analysts

Just Earth News: Former Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa was touring Pakistan from 19-23 June but geopolitical analysts in the subcontinent said his visit was clouded by interests on both sides that can meet the eye.

Analysts feel that while the visit could be Rajapaksa’s smart gesture in garnering the support of Sri Lankan Muslims in next elections in his favour, for Pakistan it could be gaining acceptance in the Lankan military.

The visit was ostensibly at the invitation of the National Defence University (NDU) of Pakistan where the former President spoke on 21 June at an event jointly organised by Global Village Space and Centre for Research and Security Studies on ‘Sri Lanka’s Struggle for Peace and its Lessons for Pakistan and the Region’. Though the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo has claimed that the visit was a private one and did not involve the Government, it now appears that this was not the case, felt analysts.

The visit was planned by the Pakistani High Commissioner in Colombo Maj. General (Retd) Syed Shakeel Hussian, who has been pushing for enhancing relations between Pakistan and Sri Lanka especially in the field of defence.

South Asian defence analysts say since, he has been facing resistance from the political leadership in striking major defence deals, including on the sale of the JF-17, he has been working through links within the Sri Lankan military to push for increased interactions.

This explains the spate of high level defence interactions between the two countries in the last few months.

Separately, the Pakistani High Commission has also been busy projecting a positive image of the country through propagating its deep interest in Sri Lankan culture including Buddhism, announcing scholarships for Sri Lankan students and participating in emergency relief efforts.

The NDU, on whose invitation the visit was organised, is a Pakistani military institution that is closely controlled by the military leadership.

The current President of NDU is Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar, who till December 2016 was the chief of Pakistan’s all powerful Inter Services Intelligence (ISI). Mahinda Rajapaksa not only met Lt Gen Akhtar while in Islamabad, but it is learnt that immediately on his arrival in Islamabad on 19 June he met Pakistani Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa.

At this secret meeting Bajwa is believed to have expressed support for Rajapaksa and hoped that the former President would use his influence in the island nation to counter the present Government’s reticence to work with Pakistan.

Rajapaksa, in turn, sought Pakistan’s assistance in swinging in his favour the Muslim populace of his country, who form more than 10% of the voters in Sri Lanka.

Mahinda probably realises that Pakistan’s patronage to Sri Lankan religious groups including the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jamaat-ul-Ulama, Muzahideen, Al Jehad and Pirai could be used to increase his support base within the Muslim community. In Islamabad, Rajapaksa was also received by Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain in his office. Separately, he also met Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhury Nisar Ali Khan. Apart from Islamabad, Rajapaksa visited Karachi, in Sindh province, where he was the guest of the Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

While Mahinda Rajapaksa is possibly looking to Pakistan for support to re-build his international profile and cultivating this goodwill in future elections, Pakistan would use this leverage to increase its influence in Sri Lanka.

In the immediate future, Pakistan intends to grant financial assistance for the renovation of mosques in Kurunegala and Puttalam Districts.