ndroullaKaminara has completed her three-yeartenure as ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan.

Now she is nearing her retirement. In November 2019, she had presented her credentials to President ArifAlvi.

The EU is driven by a spirit of multilateralism. Formed in 1950, hardly five years after the United Nation (UN), the EU has acquired a reputation for being the most successful supranational forum functioning at present.

According to Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis, about 2.5 million Pakistanis are living in 25 EU countries and the UK. Most of them are economic migrants. A large number of them have also gone there for studies.

During Kaminara’s tenure, Pakistanis became the third most frequent recipients of European scholarships. Since the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has speeded up efforts to facilitate foreign degree-holders, these students are conveniently placed in Pakistani universities.

Kaminara has led a grand forum dedicated to tolerance and interfaith harmony in Pakistan. Many politicians, women, religious scholars and interfaith harmony activists are part of this forum. One of their big achievements was the signing of Lahore Declaration that among other things stressed the need for women empowerment.

Throughout her tenure, she dedicated considerable time to activities for women empowerment and protection. She says there is a pressing need for substantive research on the problems faced by women.

Kaminara visited Balochistan several times to put in place a judicial system for protection of women. Supreme Court judges and other stakeholders were taken on board and laws were introduced to meet this end.

Throughout her tenure, she dedicated considerable time to activities for women empowerment and protection. Kaminara visited Balochistan several times to put in place a judicial system for protection of women. Supreme Court judges and other stakeholders were taken on board and laws were introduced to meet this end. Recently, she also visited Kalash women.

During her visits, she interacted with many Baloch girls. Recently, she also visited Kalash women. The EU is currently among top donors facilitating the couples choosing birth control practices.

She is fond of art and literature, especially paintings.

She takes special interest in the paintings depicting women issues and matters of interfaith harmony. She also visited EidGah Sharif, a shrine in Khyaban-i-Sir Syed, Islamabad. Custodians of this shrine have considerable influence on politics of the region. Apart from tolerance and interfaith harmony, shrines in Pakistan are also centres of political power. Former prime minister Imran Khan used to sit at the shrine of Baba Farid and pay his respects. His predecessor Nawaz Sharif was a regular visitor to Data Darbar in Lahore. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto would frequent the shrine of LalShahbazQalandar in Sindh. So, Kaminara’s visit to EidGah Sharif has a political dimension to it. She also visited several churches and met Christian and Hindu leaders on various occasions.

It was not an easy ride. She was always quick to highlight achievements of ShirinMazari.

Recently, the name of Turkish ambassador was mistakenly put in Urdu translation of an appeal by over 20 European ambassadors to Pakistan to condemn Russian attack on Ukraine as a signatory. The error was later rectified, but Mazari tweeted it to imply that it was a deliberate deception. Then former prime minister Imran Khan publicly linked this appeal to a conspiracy against his government.

Some months earlier, Mazari tagged Kaminara in a tweet accusing the EU of keeping silent on Indian atrocities in Occupied Kashmir. Kaminarasaid that that was not the case but became a target of trolling. When EU ambassadors were thanking Pakistan for rescuing them to Islamabad after takeover of Kabul by the Taliban, then information minister Fawad Khan joined Mazari in grilling them for restricting PIA operations in EU.

At the time of re-evaluation of Pakistan’s GSP+ status, a lot of hate was generated through conspiracy theories against the EU and Kaminara had to explain on Twitter that Pakistan had to take care of its minorities, women, journalists and vulnerable segments of society to deserve the favourextended to the poorest countries by the EU.

Her meetings with Army Chief Gen QammarJavedBajwa also became a subject of criticism.

The writer researches mediatization of gender in politics and teaches at International Islamic   University Islamabad. Twitter:  @HassanShehzadZ, Email: Hassan.shehzad@iiu.edu.pk