Chinese President Xi Jinping has reiterated Beijing's unwavering support to Islamabad, saying that "no matter how the international landscape may change, China will always stand firmly with Pakistan”.
''We have consistently rejected such statements in the past. The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the union territory of Ladakh are and will always be integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has a locus standi,'' Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said at a media briefing.
China in a statement said that it strongly condemns and expresses great indignation over this major terrorist attack.
The ambitious CPEC is a 3,000- km-long route of infrastructure projects connecting the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and the Gwadar port in Pakistan’s western province of Balochistan. India has protested to China against the project not the least because it is being laid through Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (POK). As CPEC enters its second phase, it will be riveted to industrialisation and the development of economic zones in what appears to be a paradigm shift.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has played to the Beijing gallery with an assurance that his government will support China’s enterprises in Pakistan on a priority basis. Deft in playing the diplomatic card, he has directed the authorities to resolve the issues related to road connectivity and the dearth of utilities being faced by investors from China.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar also referred to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) saying that India has consistently expressed concerns to both China and Pakistan on the projects.
The blast came days after terrorists attacked the Pearl Continental luxury hotel in the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan, killing at least eight persons, including four civilians and a Pakistan Navy soldier.
In an article in the Pakistani Newspaper ‘Dawn’ of 9 February this year, Pervez Hoodbhoy writes, ‘Its (Bangladesh) growth rate last year (7.8 per cent) put it at par with India (8.0 per cent) and well above Pakistan (5.8 per cent).
Three gunmen stormed the Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar on Saturday, killing four hotel workers and one Navy official.
India sternly opposes the CPEC, a key artery of the Belt and Road project that cuts through Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
