The two-day maiden visit of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan to Sri Lanka concluded on Wednesday with a joint statement released at the end of the visit. Missing, however, from the joint statement were some of the potentially nettlesome bilateral and regional issues that were pushed under the carpet despite possibly figuring in the discussions. 

There were some speculations in the media that Pakistan would help Sri Lanka garner diplomatic support from Muslim nations for the ongoing 46th UNHRC session where a resolution has already been tabled against Sri Lanka.  The resolution came in the backdrop of a scathing report by the UNHRC on deteriorating human rights conditions and the lack of accountability to address war crimes committed in the past. 

The issue of support to Sri Lanka, though, hasn’t figured in the Sri Lanka-Pakistan joint statement. 

The Kashmir issue, which Pakistan never fails to raise on any regional or international platform, also didn’t find any place in the statement. This, however, was expected, given the close and sensitive relations that Colombo enjoys with New Delhi. The joint statement just mentioned Khan’s vision of a “peaceful neighborhood” and "dialogue" as a key to resolving all pending issues in the subcontinent. 

Another important issue - the mandatory cremation of Muslim who died of  Covid-19 -  was also missing in the joint statement. Earlier, various civil society organizations and some Muslim MPs urged Pakistan’s Prime Minister Khan to take up the issue with the Sri Lankan leadership. 

On Wednesday, the leader of the Sri Lankan Muslim Congress, Rauff Hakeem, also met PM Imran Khan. 

“We don’t want to comment on (COVID-19 burials and UNHRC) it, but overall we can say the Prime Minister is confident our leaders are mature enough to understand the situation and make a decision that will keep the country and communities together,” Rauff was quoted as saying by News 1st after his meeting with him. 

Earlier, the issue caused embarrassment to both leaders. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa had announced in parliament that the government would also allow burial for Muslims and Christians who died of the Covid-19. Pakistan leader Imran Khan took to Twitter on the same day, welcoming the decision, and thanked the Sri Lankan government.

However, a day later, the Sri Lankan government backed off from the statement of Rajapaksa and said the prime minister had no right to make any decision on the issue. 

Earlier this week, Amnesty International also urged Khan to raise the issue with Sri Lanka during his trip. Khan, however, made no reference to it in his visit. The Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) has also raised the issue in the ongoing UNHRC session. 

Imran Khan also stated  in Colombo that he tried to initiate dialogue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi immediately after the former assumed office, but wasn’t successful. He said he is still optimistic that sense will prevail as the only way forway to resolve the differences in the subcontinent is through “dialogue”. 

The statement came during the Pakistan-Sri Lanka Trade and Investment Conference which was hosted on the second day of Imran Khan’s visit to Sri Lanka. Mahinda Rajapakse, the Sri Lankan prime minister, was also present. 

“All we want is for the Kashmir dispute to be resolved according to the United Nations Security Council resolutions and this can only be achieved through dialogue,” Khan was quoted as saying by Dawn. 

Significantly, the issue was not mentioned in the joint statement released at the end of Khan’s visit on Wednesday. 

 Ranil Wickremesinghe, the former prime minister of Sri Lanka, speaking to WION, said that you expect Kashmir to be raised wherever Pakistan prime minister goes, and Colombo must know how to handle that.