ISLAMABAD   -   President of the United States Joe Biden had invited 40 world leaders to participate in the Virtual Leaders Summit on Climate on April 22-23 but surprisingly he left out Pakistan, a country severely and frequently affected by climate change, global warming and rising temperatures. 

Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry in a tweet said that the summit would reconvene the Major Economies Forum and would be a milestone. The leaders who were invited for Global Climate Summit included Prime Ministers of Bangladesh, Bhutan and India but not Prime Minister Imran Khan. 

President Biden had also invited leadership of countries like Japan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Indonesia and Italy.

While responding to a media query, the Spokesperson of the Foreign Office stated on Saturday that Pakistan’s commitment to addressing Climate Change and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s leadership on this account was well accepted and appreciated around the world. The government’s landmark initiatives like the Billion Tree Tsunami had won international acclaim, including from the World Economic Forum.

Pakistan was also meaningfully contributing to shape the global Climate Change discourse, inter alia, as the Vice President of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Pakistan also co-chaired the multibillion-dollar Green Climate Fund, established to support climate actions in developing countries, last year.

He said the Leaders’ Summit on Climate Change hosted by President Biden reconvened the U.S.-led Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, bringing together leaders from countries responsible for approximately 80 percent of global emissions and GDP. The summit also included representation from countries holding Chairs of geographic regions and groups including Least Developed Countries, Small Island Developing States, and Climate Vulnerable Forum. Pakistan, despite being among the top ten countries affected by Climate Change, was one of the lowest emitters - with less than one percent of the global emissions.

Climate Change was one of the defining challenges of our times that could only be countered through inclusive, cooperative and forward-looking policies. Pakistan remained fully committed to play its due role in this fight, the Spokesperson added. 

In the days ahead, the

analysts will continue wondering whether omission of Pakistan was some kind of bias of the new US administration or even the issue of climate change had become a victim of political expediency. 

Excluding Pakistan will raise questions about the larger designs of the United States in the South Asian region.

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the form of sanctions on individuals from the EU and UK. China’s foreign ministry on Saturday accused the US and Canada of imposing sanctions “based on rumours and disinformation.” The sanctioned officials, who are also banned from conducting business with Chinese citizens and institutions, “must stop political manipulation on Xinjiang-related issues, stop interfering in China’s internal affairs in any form,” the ministry said. “Otherwise, they will get their fingers burnt,” the foreign ministry statement warned.

- Consumer boycotts -

The diplomatic standoff spilled over into the world of fashion this week when pledges made last year by several companies to boycott Xinjiang cotton resurfaced this week on Chinese-owned social network Weibo, triggering additional controversy.

The resurfacing of the pledges, which were made by the likes of Sweden’s H&M, American sportswear giant Nike, Germany’s Adidas and Japan’s Uniqlo, was denounced Friday by the United States, which implied the timely reappearance was a calculated move by Beijing.

“The US condemns the PRC... social media campaign and corporate and consumer boycott against companies, including American, European and Japanese businesses,” said State Department deputy spokeswoman Jalina Porter, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

Chinese celebrities and tech firms have already waded in, pulling partnerships with companies ranging from Nike and H&M to Adidas, Burberry and Calvin Klein. Beijing, which insists Xinjiang is an “internal affair”, had announced sanctions Friday against nine British individuals and four entities, saying they had “maliciously spread lies and disinformation” over the treatment of Uyghurs.

China flatly denies any abuses in the region, describing detention centers there as work camps intended to boost incomes and deter extremism in a region made restive by central control. China previously sanctioned dozens of US officials including former secretary of state Mike Pompeo for “crazy moves” against Beijing under the Trump administration.

Meanwhile Canada-China relations are at their lowest point in decades, with China trying two Canadians for alleged espionage this month while an extradition hearing in Vancouver for Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou enters its final months.