By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to China from May 23 to 26 for an official visit that will mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries and offer an opportunity to deepen their long-standing “all-weather strategic partnership,” the Foreign Office said on Friday.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, speaking at the ministry’s weekly briefing, said Sharif was invited by the People’s Republic of China. The trip comes at a moment when Islamabad is actively engaged in regional diplomacy, including efforts to ease tensions between the United States and Iran. “The visit will provide an opportunity to reaffirm the abiding strength of the Pakistan-China all-weather strategic partnership and advance a shared vision of building an even closer Pakistan-China community of a shared future,” Andrabi said.
During the four-day trip, Sharif is expected to hold high-level meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang. The two sides plan to review the full spectrum of bilateral ties, including political, economic and strategic cooperation, with the aim of strengthening political trust and expanding coordination, the spokesperson said. Sharif’s itinerary begins in the eastern city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, where he will chair a Pakistan-China business-to-business investment conference. He will then travel to Beijing to attend a reception hosted by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries to commemorate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations, established in 1951.The Foreign Office later issued a separate written statement outlining the same details.
US-Iran tensions expected on agenda
When asked whether the current US-Iran conflict would feature in discussions, Andrabi confirmed that it would. He noted that Pakistan has been involved in recent weeks in facilitating engagement between Washington and Tehran, with China also playing a role. “Pakistan and China have maintained close coordination on the standoff in the Middle East/Gulf and our peace efforts in this regard,” Andrabi said. He recalled that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited China last month, after which the two sides issued a joint statement endorsing a five-point principle for addressing the crisis.
While the primary focus of Sharif’s trip remains bilateral relations, Andrabi said the US-Iran situation is expected to arise in the prime minister’s conversations with Chinese leaders.
Pakistan dismisses India’s rejection of Indus Waters Treaty ruling
Andrabi also addressed India’s rejection of a May 15 supplemental award issued by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in a dispute over the Indus Waters Treaty. He described India’s position as legally untenable and said it carried “no political or legal value.”
“Pakistan rejects this legally untenable attempt to dismiss the PCA’s supplemental award,” Andrabi said. He emphasized that the arbitration mechanism was established under the treaty itself and that its decisions are final and binding. India’s refusal to participate in the proceedings does not invalidate them, he added.
The spokesperson reiterated Pakistan’s long-standing position that the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty places substantive limits on India’s ability to control waters of the western rivers. He said India’s claim to hold the treaty in abeyance lacks any legal basis and that the agreement remains fully in force.
Call for international action on Kashmir
Turning to the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir, Andrabi urged the international community, including the United States, to pay greater attention to what he described as ongoing human rights abuses. He noted that May 21 marked the anniversaries of the killings of two prominent Kashmiri leaders: Mirwaiz Maulvi Mohammad Farooq in 1990 and Abdul Gani Lone in 2002, both shot by unidentified gunmen.
“Pakistan salutes the courage of countless Kashmiri martyrs who have laid down their lives in pursuit of their inalienable right to self-determination,” Andrabi said. He called the deaths “a chilling example of the brazen impunity that defines the deplorable human rights situation in the India-occupied Kashmir.” Andrabi condemned the politically motivated cases against Kashmiri leaders, arbitrary detentions and the alleged misuse of the judiciary “to pursue a political vendetta.”
He called for the release of political prisoners, human rights defenders and civil society activists, and urged the international community to hold India accountable and work toward a just solution.
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
