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Senior government officials have cited ‘COVID-19 limitations’ for the decision
In what appears to be a last-minute decision ahead of Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s upcoming visit to Sri Lanka, Colombo canceled his speech in Parliament scheduled for next week, sparking speculation in political circles and diplomats from the capital.
Senior government officials have cited “COVID-19 restrictions” for the decision, even as the itinerary issued by the Department of Government Information, dated February 16, 2021, indicated “arrival in Parliament” on February 24, along with with Mr. scheduled participation in a ‘Trade and Investment Conference’, and the inauguration of a Sports Institute on the same day. Amid a wave of infections in the country, Sri Lanka launched a vaccination campaign for parliamentarians on Tuesday.
The prime minister of Pakistan, who is the first head of government to visit Sri Lanka after the pandemic hit the world last year, is expected to arrive on February 23.
When contacted, a spokesman for the Pakistan High Commission in Colombo said The Hindu: “The Prime Minister’s address in [Sri Lankan] Parliament was not confirmed in the first place, it was being discussed ”. However, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena had said at a meeting of party leaders earlier this month that Khan would address the House. The matter was included in the minutes of that meeting, the sources present said.
Pop-up questions
Colombo’s review of the visiting leader’s itinerary has raised questions for obvious reasons.
It comes just a week before Sri Lanka faces a resolution likely to be contested at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, of which Pakistan is currently a member. The cancellation is also seen in the context of Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s assurance to Parliament on February 10 that the burial of COVID-19 victims would be allowed, amid a persistent campaign by the community. Muslim woman from Sri Lanka, seeking burial rights. Mr. Khan welcomed Mr. Rajapaksa’s statement in a tweet shortly thereafter. “We welcome Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa’s assurance given today in the Sri Lankan Parliament that it allows Muslims to bury those who died of COVID-19,” he said.
But a week since then, the government has yet to reverse its highly controversial policy of enforcing cremations for COVID-19 victims, which has been followed despite the WHO authorizing both burial and cremation.
Cabinet spokesman Udaya Gammanpila said at the weekly press conference on Tuesday that there were no changes to existing policy. Mr Rajapaksa had only expressed his “personal opinion” in Parliament, the spokesman said, adding that neither the Prime Minister nor the Cabinet had the power to reverse the policy, which is said to be an “expert committee” under the Ministry of Health is reviewing.
“Our government first embarrassed our own Prime Minister. Now they are embarrassing the Prime Minister of another country who visits us, this is pathetic, ”said Rauf Hakeem, opposition MP and leader of the Muslim Congress of Sri Lanka. “They [government] they are backtracking on their own positions and statements repeatedly, as they did with burial security. This type of hot and cold wind, especially in diplomacy, reflects a lack of maturity and could affect our relationships with our friends and partners in the long term, ”he said. The Hindu.
Meanwhile, New Delhi is following Khan’s visit with interest, diplomatic sources said, referring to the conflicting position of the two countries on Kashmir. Sri Lanka, which has had close ties with India and Pakistan, has rarely commented on the issue.
The last foreign leader to address the Sri Lankan Parliament was Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during his visit to the island nation in 2015.
Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Moraji Desai previously received the honor, in 1962, 1973 and 1979 respectively. Pakistani leaders, including Presidents Mohamed Ayub Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, addressed the Sri Lankan Parliament in 1963 and 1975. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Thai Prime Ministers Thaksin Shinawatra and Yingluck Shinawatra also spoke in the House.
