Chinese commander, PM discuss military ties

ISLAMABAD: Commander of the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force of China General Han Weiguo called on Prime Minister Imran Khan at the PM Office here on Tuesday, and discussed with him the collaboration between the militaries of Pakistan and China.

Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mehmood and higher-ups of Pakistan Army were also present during the meeting.Earlier in the morning, President Arif Alvi conferred Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Military) on Gen Han at a special investiture ceremony held at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. Dr Alvi congratulated Gen Han and reiterated Pakistan’s strong resolve to take the bilateral relations between the two countries to new heights in all fields. The President said Pakistan and China enjoyed a unique all-weather and time-tested friendship and Pakistan considered China as its “Iron Brother”.

While highlighting Pakistan-China friendship, an important cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy, the President said defence and economic relations between the two counties were vital for maintaining peace and stability in the region.

He emphasised the importance of digital economy and cyber security in today’s world and underscored the need for close cooperation between the two brotherly countries to ward off challenges emerging in cyber field.

Dr Alvi further said defence and strategic cooperation was the backbone of strategic cooperative partnership and defence authorities of the two countries had maintained close coordination. “Frequent high-level exchange of military delegations is a key aspect of our cooperation in this regard,” he said while underlining the need for further enhancing counter-terrorism cooperation between the two countries.

Dr Alvi said Pakistan deeply valued China’s support on issues of its national security and territorial integrity, including Kashmir. He reassured that Pakistan strongly adhered to the “One China Policy” and expressed satisfaction over progress of all the ongoing projects initiated under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He highlighted that the Pakistan government had instituted multi-layer security arrangements with the civil and military security agencies and involvement of provincial and federal governments for the safety of Chinese nationals. Gen Han thanked the President for awarding him the Nishan-i-Imtiaz (Military).

The Chinese commander had also met Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Monday and discussed with him matters related to regional security, CPEC and military cooperation.