PM questions West’s ‘double standards’ on China, IIOJK

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday questioned the “double standards” of the West towards China and Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, saying that the allegations of humanitarian crisis in Xinjiang were “not true” while there was “selective silence” over IIOJK being turned into an open prison by 800,000 Indian troops.

“Pakistan’s ambassador to China has visited the area [Xinjiang] and informed that such [humanitarian crisis] allegations are not true,” Premier Imran said while addressing the Chinese media.

The prime minister said on the other hand, the West did not talk about IIOJK where the worst human rights violations had been committed by the Indian forces.

“There is selective silence over Kashmir,” PM Imran said, adding that IIOJK had been turned into an open prison by 800,000 Indian troops, and such a silence on Kashmir was deafening which was based upon double standards.

To a query regarding Afghanistan, he said the country had suffered for the last 40 years as the outer countries had turned its soil into a battleground.

After 40 years, the war-weary country got a chance for peace, he said, adding that the international community did not think of the Afghans after the foreign troops’ withdrawal. “They did not think how these impoverished people would survive.”

Imran said when the Soviets left Afghanistan, there was utter chaos and casualties.

“Now, everyone abandoned Afghanistan. I am talking about 40 million Afghan people currently facing the worst humanitarian crises,” he said, warning that the same chaos and destruction could return to Afghan soil which occurred after Soviets’ pullout.

Imran called upon the international community to focus on the welfare of the Afghan people immediately who needed help as soon as possible without its likes or dislikes for the Taliban.

About Pakistan’s focus on geo-economics strategy, the prime minister stressed upon strengthening its economy which according to him had, unfortunately, never been paid attention to in the past.

Expressing his eagerness to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 during his upcoming visit to China, PM Imran said that time-tested ties between the two countries had grown strongly over a period of time.

He said his upcoming visit to China in the next week would provide him an opportunity to witness the winter Olympics. Despite a sportsman for about 20 years, he had not witnessed such an event in the past. Being in politics, he did not get time for sports, he added.

The prime minister said that they would also teach the Chinese nation how to play cricket, expressing hope that the Chinese would excel in this game as they had shown excellent performance in the Olympics games during the last few years.

He observed that Covid pandemic had devastated the world and badly affected the sporting events.

Read PM’s China visit to focus on joint ventures: FM

The prime minister said they would also promote skiing in Gilgit-Baltistan and some other parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, which had ideal skiing locations, adding that in this regard, they would be looking towards Chinese cooperation and coordination as the country had performed well in the winter sports.

He said both countries had bonds of friendship spanning over a period of 70 years, which were further cemented with the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

He said, “There is a feeling in Pakistan that China always stood with us in times of need and supported us during difficult times. Similarly, Pakistan also always stood with China.”

The prime minister also referred to the construction of the Karakorum highway as a vital milestone in the chapter of Pakistan-China friendship. A number of Chinese died during its construction, he added.

To a query, he said that the most impressive thing about China as acknowledged by the entire world was its success in taking 700 million people out of poverty during the last 30 or 40 years, adding that such a huge achievement had never happened before in the human history.

He said it was such a feast that had impressed the world. “It is this fact which also impressed me as it coincides with my objective of steering my people out of poverty.”

To another question, he maintained that they would like to emulate the steps taken by China to alleviate poverty. “We want to emulate the Chinese model of inclusive growth. The Chinese economic growth resulted in the prosperity of all Chinese people,” he maintained.

He said such an inclusive growth excluded the bridge between the rich and the poor. “China is a model for all those countries that wanted an inclusive growth.”

Such a growth, he said, also contributed to wealth creation. China remained focused on the economy and when it attained growth, its fruits trickled down to all strata of society.

About CPEC, the prime minister said its first phase was focused on connectivity and energy sector, but now they were developing special economic zones and agriculture, seeking Chinese cooperation to help improve their productivity, crops’ yield and livestock, citing the latest varieties of cotton crop as developed by China.

He also referred to the information technology as another realm of cooperation as the future of the world hinged over the growth of the sector. He opined that China had made strides in the IT field.

Talking about another field of cooperation between the two countries, he said that they would be learning from Chinese experience over building megacities and coping the problems of air pollution and waste disposal etc.

He said Pakistan had been witnessing urbanisation at the fastest pace and the Chinese model of urban development would be of great help.

The prime minister also expressed best wishes on his behalf and on behalf of the people of Pakistan to the Chinese government and the people on the advent of the new lunar year.