ISLAMABAD - Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar on Tuesday assured China that security of its workers and projects have been revised and made more tough and said those responsible for the terrorist attacks on Chinese would not go unpunished. He made this assurance in response to the serious concerns expressed by Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan at the International Conference “China at 75: A Journey of Progress, Transformation and Global Leadership” here.
“China is deeply concerned over the deteriorating security of Chinese workers and projects in Pakistan,” Chinese Ambassador said to the deputy prime minister.
Dar also said that the government’s efforts to persuade United States leadership to release Dr Aafia Siddiqui could not bear fruit despite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had written a letter to the US President Joe Biden seeking pardon for the jailed Pakistani doctor. Addressing the event, Ishaq Dar said that being the symbol of China-Pakistan cooperation, CPEC helped uplift the country’s energy infrastructure to address the load-shedding woes of the people. He said that being the symbol of China-Pakistan cooperation, CPEC helped uplift the country’s energy infrastructure to address the load-shedding woes of the people.
Calling the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) a “wonderful gift” of China to Pakistan, he said that his country was committed to taking the project to the next level to deepen cooperation in the fields of agriculture, industrialization, renewable energy and others.
He said the government was taking action to materialise the Chinese offer of sending 1,000 students to China for training in agricultural technology
He said that Pakistan deeply valued China’s support in addressing long-standing issues including Kashmir and Palestine and reaffirmed Pakistan’s unwavering support to the One-China policy.
He said that being time-tested friends, both China and Pakistan supported each other in all circumstances whether they were natural disasters, economic disruptions, or geopolitical shifts.
Lauding China’s development journey, Deputy Prime Minister Dar said that over the past 75 years, China, despite leg pulling from certain parts of the globe, has unprecedentedly achieved a milestone through a “light-speed” and was also contributing to a better world.
Citing the commitment and hard work of the Chinese leadership and the people, he expressed the hope that China would become the biggest economy in due course.
He said from space exploration to artificial intelligence, medical science, green development and cutting-edge technology, China had achieved a massive transformation to become an economy with over $17 trillion GDP.
Ishaq Dar also appreciated the Chinese contribution to peace and stability at global political and economic landscape besides strengthening the role of multilateral diplomacy.
He told the gathering that after a hiatus of 27 years, Pakistan had successfully hosted a mega event of SCO CHG meeting which drew admiration from the participating leaders including Chinese and Russian premiers.
On the issue of Dr Aafia Siddiqui, the deputy prime minister highlighted the government’s efforts to persuade the American leadership for pardon which could not bear fruit.
He said Prime Minister Shehbaz sent a letter to the US President requesting to pardon Dr Aafia on humanitarian grounds before relinquishing the office.
However, he said a three-member committee had been formed to meet the US parliamentarians to lobby in favour of her pardon, release, and sending her back to Pakistan.
Coming to unabated Israel’s barbarism in Gaza, he said that Pakistan was one of the countries which spoke vocally in favour of the Palestinian people and called for an immediate end to genocide, and implementation of the UNSC resolutions and ICJ rulings.
Expressing concerns over the attacks in Lebanon and Iran, he said Pakistan had sent 10 big consignments of relief goods to Gaza and had started hosting Palestinian medical students in Pakistan’s public and private medical colleges to make them complete their education.
