BEIJING: China has expressed hope that all political parties in Pakistan would stay united and uphold supreme interest of country’s development and stability.
“China always follows the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said during his briefing while responding to a question about no-confidence move by the opposition against Prime Minister Imran Khan.
“As an all weather strategic cooperative partner and friendly neighbour of Pakistan, it is our sincere hope that all parties in Pakistan will stay united and uphold the major interest of developments and stability,” he added.
The reaffirmation comes after Prime Minister Imran Khan vowed ight the conspirators against his government till his last breath, saying the nation would never forgive and forget the conspirators as well as their supporters.
He told the nation that on March 7, the government received a message from a country through Pakistan’s ambassador there, which said that they would pardon Pakistan’s all misgivings of Imran Khan was ousted. If happened otherwise, Pakistan will have to face difficulties.
“This (message) is against the nation,” he said the message coming before the vote of confidence showed that the political opponents were in contact with that country. The prime minister said the conspiracy was being hatched through to oust him personally.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, after a meeting with Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, said Beijing had reaffirmed that it was and would always stay a close ally of Pakistan.
Qureshi visited China to attend the third round of talks of the ‘Foreign Ministers of Neighbouring Countries of Afghanistan’. In a video message after the meeting, Qureshi revealed that China had promised to strengthen Pakistan’s regional and strategic importance. He said the Chinese government appreciated the Organisation of Islamic Corporation’s suggestion of peaceful dialogue for negotiations in the Russia-Ukraine crisis.
A statement issued by the Foreign Office said that Qureshi assured Pakistan’s support to the One China Policy and to core Chinese interests. “Both the Foreign Ministers agreed that quality development of second phase of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and bilateral cooperation in areas such as industries, agriculture and information technology is manifestation of our multidimensional partnership,” it added.
It may be recalled that Pakistan had initiated the Neighbouring Countries format in September last year with a view to evolving a regional approach to the situation in Afghanistan. The first meeting, which was hosted by Pakistan, was held on September 8, 2021.
