Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. PHOTO: FILE
Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has discussed the current security situation in the region including Pakistan-India tensions over the Line of Control (LoC), with the Chinese leadership.
Kayani, who began a four-day official trip to China on Monday, held separate meetings with Central Military Commission Vice Chairman General Fan Changlong and Chinese State Councillor and Minister for Public Security Guo Shengkun, said a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The military’s media wing said Kayani discussed with Chinese leadership the current regional security situation and the possible role both could play towards ‘strategic stability’. “Talks also encompassed the measures to boost mutual cooperation on a wide range of issues,” the statement added.
According to ISPR, the army chief reiterated the goodwill of the government and people of Pakistan and thanked Chinese leadership for China’s ‘eternal support to Pakistan’.
Kayani was also the guest of honour earlier in the day, at a banquet hosted by Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Zhang Yesui, and later in the evening in the banquet hosted by People’s Liberation Army Deputy Chief of General Staff General Hou Shusen. This is Kayani’s last trip to China as head of the army. He is set to retire in the last week of November.
Kayani’s visit is part of the ongoing high-level consultations between the two neighbours against the backdrop of rapidly changing developments in the region, particularly the Afghan endgame.
His visit comes in the wake of ongoing tensions between Pakistan and India over ceasefire violations at the LoC and the working boundary. Both sides have held each other responsible for the flaring up of tensions in the disputed Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Although the official release did not specify whether Kayani discussed the LoC tensions, a senior military official said the issue did come under discussion.
Another key agenda item on the table was the current situation in Afghanistan, the official added while requesting anonymity. He said both Pakistan and China shared a common objective on Afghanistan.
The two countries support the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process in Afghanistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2013.
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@ Ind: Only when you Hindi people stop shitting on the streets and railway tracks.
@Feroze: way to go with this propaganda thesis... You should start writing comic books.
When are you pakis going to have some self respect?
@Feroz: Interesting hypothesis. Though, you over weigh the depth of China's relationship with India. While it is economically fruitful, China has far more to lose with the WEST than it does with India. Strategically, China would not necessarily want to support India because of the differing geo-political positions that China has with respect to India. I suspect Kayani's trip was more of a show of muscle towards India rather than an inquisitive "are we still friends?" trip. It would be very simple to ascertain whether China had changed its position without going on a big well publicized trip.