Islamabad: Ahead of his visit to China, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that for lasting peace in South Asia, a “strategic balance” must be maintained in the region, and the border dispute and Kashmir issue should be resolved through dialogue, diplomacy, and rules of international law. Should be according to In an article published in China’s state-run newspaper ‘Global Times’, Khan described the resolution of the Kashmir issue as important for maintaining peace in South Asia, apart from border disputes, and briefly mentioned it.
“It is our shared view that lasting peace in South Asia depends on maintaining a strategic balance in the region and that all pending issues such as the border question and the Kashmir dispute shall be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy and in accordance with the rules of international law,” he said. Must go.”
Khan made the remarks at a time when bilateral relations between India and Pakistan are sour over the Kashmir issue and cross-border terrorism. Prime Minister Khan has given a clean chit to China over human rights allegations against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang ahead of his visit to China. He is in China to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games on February 4. The US and its allies have boycotted this opening ceremony over the Xinjiang issue. Khan said that his country’s ambassador had visited the province and he did not find the allegations to be true. “There has been a lot of criticism of China in the West for its treatment of Uighur Muslims, but our ambassador went there and sent information that it was not really true,” Khan said in an interview to Chinese journalists in Islamabad on Saturday ahead of his visit to Beijing. Is.”
Giving a clean chit to China over the troubled Xinjiang region, Khan questioned the “selective silence” of Western countries over alleged human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir. India has repeatedly told Pakistan that Jammu and Kashmir was, is, and always will be an integral part of it.
It has also advised Pakistan to accept the reality and stop all anti-India propaganda. India has emphasized that it seeks normal neighborly relations with Pakistan in an environment free from terror, hostility, and violence. India has said that it is the responsibility of Pakistan to create an environment free from terrorism and enmity.
During an interview with Chinese journalists in July 2021, Khan ignored criticism of Pakistan’s silence on China’s allegations of human rights abuses of Uighur Muslims. According to Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, Pakistan has accepted Beijing’s stand on its treatment of Uighur Muslims because of its “greater closeness and relations”.
Besides attending the opening ceremony, Khan will hold meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other officials to discuss the status of bilateral ties and the problems facing the USD 60 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Along with this, there will also be talks on Chinese debt and investment to support the declining economy of Pakistan. The CPEC connects Gwadar port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province and is a flagship project of China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
India has opposed it, as it passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. In his article, Khan has said that the safety of Chinese employees working for CPEC projects is Pakistan’s top priority. Khan said in an interview to Chinese journalists, “There is a feeling in Pakistan that China has always stood by us in times of need and supported us in difficult times. Similarly, Pakistan has always stood by China.
On a question on Afghanistan, Khan said that foreign powers cannot leave the country without thinking of the people. He warned that if everyone left Afghanistan, there could be a serious humanitarian crisis in the country. He said the international community should think about the 40 million Afghans, whether they like the Taliban government or not.
