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Updated September 9th, 2019 at 16:56 IST

China's Foreign Minister in Pakistan, makes perfunctory J&K remark

In a joint statement released by Pakistan's Foreign Office, Chinese Foreign Minister Wan Yi reaffirmed China’s support to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue

Reported by: Akhil Oka
China
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In a joint statement released by Pakistan's Foreign Office, Chinese Foreign Minister Wan Yi reaffirmed China’s support to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue. He also reiterated his country’s opposition to any unilateral action taken by India in the state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), which could complicate the situation. Yi maintained that the issue should be peacefully resolved based on appropriate United Nations (UN) resolutions, Charters and bilateral agreements between India and Pakistan. This statement was issued after the culmination of the Chinese Foreign Minister’s two-day official visit to Pakistan. 

Read:Pakistan Woos Investors Using Belly Dancers At Azerbaijan Summit

Yi’s high-profile engagements 

After arriving in Pakistan, Yi held meetings with Pakistan President Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Army Chief General Qamar Bajwa. Imran Khan assured the Chinese Foreign Minister of timely completion of the projects under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) amidst growing concerns about the same. Furthermore, both sides emphasized their all-weather strategic co-operative partnership would stand the test of time. The Pakistani side briefed Yi on the situation in Kashmir, explaining its position, concerns, and humanitarian issues.  

Read: Imran Khan Raises Nuclear War Anew While Saying 'Pak Won't Nuke First'

Scrapping of the special status of J&K 

A Presidential order combined with the passage of necessary legislation in both Houses of the Parliament lead to the revocation of special status enjoyed by J&K in early August. Also, the state was bifurcated into J&K and Ladakh, with both being conferred the status of a Union Territory. Since then, Pakistan has been desperately trying to internationalize the Kashmir issue. While it did manage to convince China to call a closed-door meeting of the UN Security Council, this attempt proved to be futile. A majority of the Council members refused to pass any resolution or formally take up the matter.  

Read: China Invests $1 Billion In CPEC Development Projects In Pakistan

India rejects China’s contention 

After the conclusion of the closed-door discussion at the UNSC, India’s permanent representative to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin stated that the issue related to Article 370 of the Indian constitution was an ‘internal matter’ of India. He put into perspective the statements issued by the Pakistani and Chinese UN representatives before him, accusing them of trying to pass off national sentiments as the will of the international community. Earlier, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Raveesh Kumar rejected China’s objections on the Kashmir issue. Maintaining that India did not comment on the internal affairs of other countries, he urged other countries to follow suit.  

(With ANI inputs)

Read: Pakistan Attaches Great Importance To Projects Taken Under CPEC: PM Imran Khan

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Published September 9th, 2019 at 15:22 IST

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