China asks US to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty

CHINA: China has asked the United States to respect Pakistan’s sovereignty, understand its problems, address its concerns and acknowledge the sacrifices rendered by it in the war against terror. During a meeting with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani here Wednesday, Chinese Premier Wen Jibao said he had taken up the matter with US officials during a recent strategic and economic dialogue in Washington, adding that the Americans had acknowledged Pakistan’s contributions to the war on terror and assured him that their country would take steps to improve relations with Pakistan.

Mr Jibao said that regardless of changes that might take place in the international landscape, China and Pakistan would remain forever good neighbours and good partners. Pakistan and China signed three agreements on economic and technological cooperation, banking and mining. Talking to reporters after the meeting, Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan and China had agreed to bolster defence ties. China promised to help enhance the capacity of Pakistan’s three armed forces.

In the context of the unilateral US operation in which Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was killed, Mr Jibao categorically stated that his country supported Pakistan’s stance and would help it in implementing whatever strategy it adopted to combat terrorism. The two sides agreed to continue cooperation for peace in the region. The Chinese premier praised Mr Gilani’s decision to accept India’s invitation to watch the cricket world cup semifinal in Mohali and said it would help improve relations between the two neighbours.

The two countries agreed to continue their consultations on the Afghan issue. They agreed to support each other on international forums and continue consultations on UN Security Council reforms.

He said Pakistan would review its counter-terrorism strategy and relationship with the United States. We will decide rules of business for any future cooperation with America. Responding to a question, Mr Gilani denied he had retracted his statement that Osama’s killing was a great victory. He said Bin Laden was a foreigner who was using Pakistani soil for acts of terrorism against other countries and had also declared war

against Pakistan. He (Osama) was responsible for the killing of thousands of Pakistanis. The prime minister said the US had assured that there would be no unilateral attack inside Pakistan’s territory in future. If another high-value target is found in Pakistan a joint operation will be carried out against him. He quoted US Senator John Kerry as saying that information about the Abbottabad operation was not shared because of security reasons and not because of any mistrust.

Answering a question about the recent UN Security Council resolution on nuclear terrorism, he said that only nuclear terrorists should worry about it. The Dawn