Asserting that its ties with Pakistan are unbreakable and rock solid, Chinaon Wednesday said the raging political crisis in Islamabad will not affectthe overall cooperation between the all-weather allies as well as theprojects under the USD 60 billion CPEC. A wary China has been keeping aclose watch on the recent rapid political developments in Pakistan, leadingto the dissolution of the Parliament over Prime Minister Imran Khan’sallegation of the US hand behind Opposition parties’ no-confidence motionagainst him.
The Opposition parties in Pakistan moved the Supreme Court to adjudicatethe legality of the dissolution of Parliament and declaration of freshelections. When asked for his reaction to the political and constitutionalcrisis in Pakistan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told amedia briefing here that while the political situation may not affectBeijing’s close ties with Islamabad, he hoped that parties will close ranksto stay united for the development and stability of the country.
China always follows the principle of non-interference in other countries’domestic affairs, he said. China and Pakistan are all-weather strategiccooperative partners. History has proven once again that no matter how theinternational landscape may evolve, and how our respective domesticsituations may change, China and Pakistan relations will always standunbreakable and rock solid, Zhao said.
We believe that the overall China-Pakistan cooperation and the ChinaPakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) construction will not be affected by thepolitical situation in Pakistan. As an ironclad friend of Pakistan, we hopeall parties in the country can stay united and jointly uphold nationaldevelopment and stability, he said. Under the USD 60 billion CPEC whichconnects Pakistan’s Gwadar port in Balochistan province to China’sXinjiang, China is building a host of infrastructure projects. India hasprotested to China over the CPEC, the flagship project of China’s Belt andRoad Initiative (BRI), as it traverses through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir(PoK).
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This is the second-time China has commented on the political crisis inPakistan. In the run-up to the tabling of the no-confidence motion byPakistan’s Opposition parties last week, China on March 31 had made anappeal to all the political parties to close ranks in the interest ofstability and development.
Observers here say that China may not be unduly concerned about the crisisas Beijing sees the Pakistan military as the cornerstone of its “ironcladties with Islamabad.