Hina Khar: Pakistan must solve its domestic problems and step back from a global role

Hina Khar: Pakistan Must Solve Its Domestic Problems and Step Back From a Global Role | GZERO World

With Washington ready to downgrade its relationship with Islamabad, Pakistan's PM Imran Khan, looking to form new friendships to protect Pakistan's strategic interests visited Moscow as Russian forces invaded Ukraine. In a GZERO World interview, Ian Bremmer talks to Pakistan’s former Foreign Minister, Hina Khar, about Afghanistan, Pakistan’s future choices, and India.

Khar argues that the West needs to accept its responsibility for starving Afghans. Military interventions like the US-led war in Afghanistan, she adds, cast a “deep shadow on the entire democratic value system.” She also thinks that the best way to help end the humanitarian crisis is to talk to the Taliban.

Pakistan's former top diplomat believes Pakistan should focus on its domestic problems like reducing Pakistan's huge dependence on foreign aid, build on its strengths, and secure its borders from threats from Afghanistan. “Our first role should be to our own people,” she states.

Khar, who previously called India a “rogue state” and a bully in the neighborhood, elaborates on India’s undemocratic gestures like the Citizenship Amendment Act and the end of autonomy for Indian-controlled Kashmir, a Muslim majority region long claimed by Pakistan.

The former Foreign Minister further explains that India's anti-deomocratic trends are ignored by the West because "everything that is happening in our part of the world has to do with containment of China."

Watch the GZERO World episode: As democracy erodes: Pakistan’s Hina Khar on “supremely dangerous” global trends

More from GZERO Media

Demonstrators attend a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's plan to resettle Palestinians from Gaza, in front of the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, February 6, 2025.
REUTERS/Umit Bektas

President Donald Trump on Thursday doubled down on his proposal to remove Palestinians from Gaza for resettlement, insisting that Israel will give the territory to the US, with no military intervention required. He then imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court for having issued an arrest warrant last year against Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

Annie Gugliotta

Is this the end of American soft power and, if so, how should allies respond? GZERO Publisher Evan Solomon explores the shuttering of USAID and the tariff taunts between the US and Canada.

Be sure to catch next week’s groundbreaking discussions on new technologies for global energy security in disruptive times live from the MSC Energy Security Hub at the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Pavilion. On Friday, Feb. 1: See the exclusive keynote by Fatih Birol, executive director of International Energy Agency, entitled “Europe’s Energy Power Struggle: Rising Demand and a New Competitive Landscape”, Join an expert panel as they discuss “Net Zero for Global Security? Geopolitics of Energy Transition and Hydrogen Trade,” featuring Leila Benali (Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development of Morocco), Jennifer Morgan (State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, German Federal Foreign Office), Rainer Quitzow (professor for Sustainability and Innovation, TU Berlin), Katherina Reiche (CEO, Westenergie AG; Chairwoman, National Hydrogen Council), Narendra Taneja (energy expert & chairman, Independent Energy Policy Institute). Saturday, Feb. 15 “Shaping Tomorrow’s Renewable Energy Paradigm in Times of Uncertainty,” the keynote by William Chueh, director, Precourt Institute for Energy, associate professor of materials science and engineering, Stanford University Plus many more panels and fireside chats. If you’re eager to explore how nations can boost their competitiveness, strengthen their economies, and create a future-proof society, sign up for our free livestream here.