To old friends

Recently the 14th virtual session of BRICS was held in China, chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping. Four out of five members of the organization favoured making Pakistan a member in the future but India strongly opposed the move, saying that Pakistan had been involved in promoting terrorism and supporting terrorist groups in the region. However, China was adamant that Islamabad would also be invited to become a member if expansion of the organization was agreed upon by all member states in the next session of the BRICS, scheduled to be held in 2023.

The bold and inflexible stance adopted by the Chinese government during the virtual session in favour of Islamabad deserves appreciation. China has always been our closest ally and has never left us in the lurch in any past or current crisis. It knows well that Pakistan is not as dangerous as India has been because it (China) also has a border conflict with India. Pakistan expects that any future engagement of the BRICS will be based on the principles of inclusivity, keeping in view the overall interests of the developing nations and spurning myopic geo-strategic considerations.

Guldar Ali Khan Wazir

Zhob