No matter what pressure is put, Pak-China ties won't change: PM Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday lauded China for introducing an alternative model to Western democracy.

Speaking to Chinese journalists on the centenary of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Prime Minister Imran Khan said the party was a unique model and had beaten all Western democracies.

“The CPC’s system of sifting talent, grooming it and bringing it up is probably more remarkable than an electoral democracy which doesn’t bring up that sort of meritocracy and hold people accountable,” he opined.

“It is very flexible system. When they want to change something the system allows them to do so.” However, he added, in our society and in Western democracies, it is difficult to bring a change as you are bound by rules and regulations.

 

 

We admire Chinese President Xi Jinping as one of the greatest statesmen of the modern world, the prime minister said, adding we have admiration for him for two particular reasons; one his commitment to fighting corruption, and secondly, he pulled so many people out of poverty.

PM Imran Khan reiterated the country’s commitment to strengthening ties with China politically and economically. He said a high level committee has been set up to follow up on CPEC projects and he will be visiting Gwadar next week to review progress on CPEC projects.

CPEC is a project that gives us optimism and hope for future economic development, he maintained, adding he was looking forward to a trip to China, which he said, is in the offing and will focus on further strengthening the bilateral relationship.

We hope to attract Chinese industries to special economic zones by giving them incentives, Khan said, adding they can also benefit from cheaper labour in Pakistan. Besides, he said Pakistan wants to benefit from the latest techniques China employs in the agriculture sector to increase productivity.

PM Khan lauded Beijing for successfully tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. We are thankful to China for donating vaccine, which helped Pakistan tackle cope with the virus, he added.

“Whenever Pakistan was in trouble, China always stood with us. The people of China have a special place in the hearts of the people of Pakistan,” he said.

Talking about the region, he said: “There is a strange great power rivalry taking place. The US has formed a regional alliance called QUAD with India and couple of other states being its member.”

He declared that Pakistan won’t take sides and wants to have good ties with everyone.

“The pressure is put on Pakistan to change or downgrade its relationship with China. It won’t happen because the relationship is deep and people to people,” the prime minister cleared.

“No matter what pressure is put on us, our relationship won’t change.”

About the Afghan peace process, the prime minister said the breakout of a civil war in the war-torn country will have serious consequences for the region. He reiterated that Pakistan wants political settlement to the Afghan conflict.

Prime Minister Khan said the US attempting to find a military solution in Afghanistan was its biggest mistake. “They kept doing the same thing over and over and over again and thought they would get a different result,” he added.

He said Pakistan was worried about the possibility of a civil war in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of American troops. Pakistan will suffer the most after Afghanistan if the civil war breaks out, he added.