Pakistan, China to continue backing each other on core issues: FO

ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) said on Friday Pakistan and China had agreed to continue supporting each other on their core issues, and there was a complete consensus to accelerate high quality development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as the flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

A spokesman for the FO was commenting on the recently-concluded official visit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to China at his weekly briefing to the press. He did not agree when asked if Pakistan-US bilateral relations would be hurt, after Pakistan expressed its commitment to One China policy and support on issues of Taiwan, South China Sea, Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.

“I don’t think so. These are Pakistan’s long-stated and long-held principled positions in support of China’s core issues. Pakistan has expressed its support for China all along and we will continue to do that. I don’t think it should impact any of our bilateral relations with other countries,” said the spokesman.

When asked about Chinese apprehensions regarding the safety of its workers in Pakistan, the spokesman said the matter had been accorded the highest priority by the Government of Pakistan and Pakistan continued to have discussions with its Chinese friends on it.

“At the highest levels, assurances have been communicated to the Chinese leadership regarding Pakistan’s commitment to ensure safety and security and to take all necessary measures in that regard,” he said.

Pakistan, he added, was already benefiting from CPEC. “CPEC has been there on the ground for quite a while and it has contributed to rejuvenating Pakistan’s economic development.

“You’re aware of the first phase of CPEC that was focusing on energy shortfall and infrastructure projects. You’re aware of the second phase that was focusing on agriculture, industrialisation and socio-economic development, and there is a renewed focus now again on some of the major infrastructure projects. “CPEC is the flagship project of BRI. It is a project that is aiming at development and socio-economic progress, not only in Pakistan, but the entire region and beyond,” he added.

He pointed out that it was a long-term project. So there were many activities that had been concluded; there were others that were in the pipeline, and there would be projects in future which would be launched with mutual agreement and understanding.

Commenting on recent remarks by a Russian senator that Pakistan was helping Ukraine on nuclear technology, the spokesman said, “We have already issued a statement, and you may refer to it; it was a very clear statement.

“We were actually surprised by such a baseless and unfounded statement. It has no rationale whatsoever and it is also inconsistent with the spirit of Pakistan-Russia relations. We have sought clarification from the Russian side and we are pursuing it here in Islamabad and in Moscow,” he added.

When asked about the latest development on investigations into the Arshad Sharif murder, the spokesman said as far as cooperation was concerned, in principle there was an understanding between Pakistan and Kenya, and Pakistan will continue to have full cooperation and coordination from the Kenyan authorities on this matter.

“As for any details, I think it’s not appropriate for me to divulge on that, the two-member team has, at the moment, completed its work. I think as per the terms of reference of the team, they are going to report to the Ministry of Interior, which is going to be the relevant governmental department to share any details,” added the spokesman.

To another query if there were any shortcomings in the Pak-China joint statement, the spokesman said he did not see any reason to assume that there was any change in position, either from Pakistan or China, with regard to their respective core issues.

“I think China’s position on Jammu and Kashmir has been consistent and always very clearly articulated including in this joint statement, and also on support for Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. So I can reassure you that there is no shortcoming of any kind in the joint statement,” he said.

When the spokesman was asked to comment on trouble in acquiring Italian and German visas, the spokesman replied, “We continue to raise this issue with the relevant diplomatic missions. I think this is the job and responsibility of diplomatic missions. This is what we do when we are abroad to facilitate the applicants for various visa categories and we expect the same from the diplomatic corps stationed in Pakistan. I think our job is to facilitate these things,” he added.