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Pakistani Ambassador to China Masood Ahmed Khan Photo: Wang Zhaokun/GT By Wang Zhaokun Pakistan said Monday that Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's visit to China will inject new momentum into the blossoming friendship between Beijing and Islamabad. "China and Pakistan have been such good friends for 60 years and I believe this special relationship will last for another 100 years or more as our friendship has been very durable and resilient," Masood Ahmed Khan, Pakistani Ambassador to China, told the Global Times in a recent interview. Gilani is expected to arrive in Shanghai today to start a four-day visit to China as the two countries gear up to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties Saturday. "One of the major target of Prime Minister Gilani's visit to China is to cement economic ties between our two countries," Khan said, adding that Gilani will inaugurate the first China-Pakistan Entrepreneur Forum. Amid encouraging signs of a closer economic relationship, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China will open two branches in Islamabad and Karachi this month, the first Chinese business bank to do so, according to the ambassador. Khan noted that Gilani's trip would also tackle certain strategic developments in the region. Islamabad and Washington recently faced off in a diplomatic row over the unauthorized military action by US special forces on Pakistani soil to kill Osama bin Laden. During a visit to Islamabad designed to ease distrust after US troops killed Bin Laden, Senator John Kerry said the US and Pakistan agreed Monday to work together in any future actions against "high value targets" in Pakistan. Kerry also said US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is to announce plans to visit Pakistan. "The leaders of China and Pakistan will naturally have an exchange of views on a whole range of regional security issues, including the Afghanistan situation and what joint efforts can be made to counter terrorism," he said. Khan said Pakistan is grateful to China for its support and recognition of the great sacrifices his country has made that "is unmatched by any other one." The ambassador dismissed speculations that the strengthening cooperation of China and Pakistan will see Pakistan-US suffer. "This is not a zero-sum game as terrorism is a common threat that we all are faced with. We have to pool our strength together and mobilize our collective resources of all sides in order to get rid of the scourge," Khan told the Global Times. However, he also reiterated Pakistan's stance that his country will not allow repetition of such unauthorized actions. "The killing of Bin Laden shall not serve as a precedent for any other country. Each country should respect the principle of international law of independence, namely territorial sovereignty," Khan said. |
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