BRICS declaration will enhance Pakistan-China counter terrorism cooperation: Chinese expert
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BEIJING: A top Chinese expert associated with government think tank said that the BRICS declaration has opened more ways for Pakistan and China to ‘work in greater detail’ to deal with the issue of terrorism in the region.
Talking to an Indian newspaper, Ma Jiali, who is a professor at the influential Communist Party School, said ‘now after this declaration, China and Pakistan will discuss how to define and label terrorists’.
Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa on Monday agreed in a joint declaration to strengthen cooperation against a range of terrorist organisations, including some allegedly based in Pakistan.
“We, in this regard, express concern over the security situation in the region and violence caused by the Taliban, (Islamic State)..., Al-Qaeda and its affiliates including Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, TTP and Hizb-ut-Tehrir,” the declaration read.
"From the declaration, you can say there is a visible change in China's stand on this matter," said Hu Shishang, director of the Institute of South Asia and South East Asian Studies in Beijing.
"Of course, these are terrorist groups and must be listed (in the declaration). But there are more deadly terrorist groups like the one that killed two Chinese citizens in Pakistan recently. They should be listed as well," Hu said.
"China will now be more open to India's views on the issue. "In future, China will consider all factors. If China thinks India's request is reasonable, China will support it at the UN," Ma Jiali added.
BRICS declaration will be followed by some serious parleys between China and Pakistan on ways to tackle terrorists groups.
"After the latest development, China and Pakistan will discuss how to deal with the problem of terrorism in greater detail. They have discussed this issue earlier. But it's not enough. Now, after this declaration, China and Pakistan will discuss how to define and label terrorists," he said.
